Chapter 216
Chapter 216
The number of chain explosions and the monsters moving around had significantly decresed . The party had been running away up to this point, but they decided to mount a counterattack . They killed all the remaining monsters quickly .
They had been exposed to almost thirty minutes of constant explosions, so there was a ringing in their ears .
Sungyoon and his party members sat in a corner to rest for a little bit .
“Is this our first time fighting a large scale battle?”
When Grace spoke, the rest of them tilted their heads in puzzlement .
Tim spoke up as the representative .
“Can this really be called a battle?”
It was technically a fight, but they had mostly run away from the explosions and the crystal shrapnels . They never fought a proper battle .
“Still, they were unusually easy foes . Even if they rushed us with great numbers, we just needed to create a chain explosion and move into the s.p.a.ce created by the explosion . Although, the Reverse Gravity did cause us a bit of trouble . . . ”
“That’s not true at all, Ms . Emily . ”
Grace shook her head from side to side .
“If we had let the crystal monsters get close to us like all the other monsters, they would have self-destructed in front of us . We would have been a.s.saulted by the chain explosions at close range . ”
“Ah!”
Emily’s face turned a shade paler .
“Mr . Sungyoon and Mr . Tim would have been fine, but the rear support would have been in trouble . ”
They were only wearing robes that amplified their spells . It provided way less defense compared to the armor .
She let out a burst of small laughter .
“It"s like going through a hazing ritual . It"s as if the middle stages of the Great Labyrinth wanted to give us a rough greeting . ”
“It really is like that . ”
While the two women conversed with each other, Sungyoon stood up .
“I"ll go retrieve the moonstones . ”
“I’ll help you . ”
Emily stood up . Tim and Grace also followed after them .
The monsters had come to Sungyoon’s party in waves . It meant a ma.s.sive amount of moonstones were spread across the floor .
The moonstones were as big as basketb.a.l.l.s, and one could create a hill using the moonstones . If Sungyoon did it by himself, it would have taken him a very long time to gather all the moonstones . After they went through the great trouble of gathering all the moonstones, Sungyoon’s party moved on .
“This place is driving me nuts . ”
Tim mumbled to himself . However, the rest of the party felt the same way as him .
Boom!
A large ball of fire fell next to them .
The party jumped to the side, so they wouldn’t be hit by a stray spark .
Gahhhhhhhhh!
A bizarre sound rang out . It wasn’t the sound created by a living creature . It was the sound of pressurized steam forcing itself out from between the rocks .
Beings made out of large burning rocks appeared in front of them .
It was as if rocks of various sizes were put together to create a humanoid shape . Red flames leaked out from the crevices in a threatening manner .
There were three of them . Tim, who was the s.h.i.+eld of the party, put up his guard .
‘Then there’s that… . ’
Sungyoon’s eyes headed towards the sky .
Boom!
Another fireball fell from the sky . This time it fell behind the party .
‘Is this what the end of the world would look like?’
Tim looked into the distance . The sky was full of falling b.a.l.l.s of fire .
Boom!
Tim blocked a fist that was as big as his upper body .
Tim was busy blocking the flurry of attacks from the three monsters .
If he wasn’t careful, his party members might be attacked .
Tim focused on blocking .
Boom! Boom! Boom!
He deflected the frontal attacks to the side, and he intercepted any overhand blows with his ax . His senses were pushed to the limit .
“I got it!”
Grace, who was behind him, yelled out loud . As soon as Tim disengaged from the fight, cold energy swept forth .
Zzuhk! Zzuh-zuh-zuh-zuh-zuhk!
The flames from the monsters lessened . Their movements slowed, and in the end, they came to a complete stop .
‘They are doing well . ’
Sungyoon was watching how his party members fared . They were showing a considerable amount of teamwork even without Sungyoon, and they were taking care of the monsters by themselves .
At that moment, Sungyoon was . . .
Kwah-jeek!
He stepped on the head of the fallen monster .
Its body was destroyed, so it was powerless against Sungyoon’s stomp .
Boom! Boom!
Another monster approached Sungyoon as if it wanted to crush him .
Hoo-oong!
It swung its fist . Sungyoon dodged the attack by moving his upper body, then he swung his sword .
Kwah-kwah-kwah-kwahng!
The sound of thunder rang out as light flashed .
The giant’s arm was severed as large and small rocks fell to the ground .
The flames dissipated, and the black scorch mark from the powerful lightning was left behind .
Sungyoon took a step forward to get close to the giant’s abdomen, and he swung his hammer .
Kwahng!
The giant’s abdomen exploded . As with the arm, its body parts turned into the normal rock as it was sent flying into the surrounding .
This was the sixth giant destroyed by Sungyoon .
Sungyoon had evolved his Gems by eliminating Golems, and he had become too powerful .
He had entered the middle stages of the Great Labyrinth, yet he probably could hunt there by himself without much problem . The power difference between him and his party members was too big now .
Of course, Sungyoon was able to evolve the Gems of his comrades, but there was a limit to how much he could evolve the Gems . Their Devices were the limiting factor .
Even if they possessed high rank Gems, most of them possessed either Platinum or Gold rank Gems . He couldn’t evolve them any further .
However, Sungyoon didn’t even entertain the idea of disbanding his party .
It was hard to find people that he trusted, and he liked his current party members .
Moreover, they had entered the Great Labyrinth way ahead of schedule . This was why he planned on slowly leading them forward .
Puh-uhk!
The spear blade of the halberd cleanly pierced through the burning head of the giant .
Sungyoon returned to his party .
“Are you guys ok?”
“Of course! This is nothing!”
Tim spoke with confidence . It was clear he wasn’t lying, and Sungyoon could tell Tim hadn’t overextended himself .
Sungyoon had just become too strong, so they looked weak in comparison . However, their Gems were effective in this place .
Kwahng!
A fireball flew past above their heads to land nearby . The party quickly gathered the moonstones .
In the distance, they could see fire tornadoes razing the ground . Then there were the b.a.l.l.s of fire that kept falling to the ground . The fire was everywhere .
“What do you think will come out next?”
Tim spoke as he looked around at the h.e.l.l-like landscape . Sungyoon answered him .
“At the very least, it won’t be normal . ”
***
After clearing a decent amount of floors in the middle stages of the Great Labyrinth, Sungyoon’s party returned to Armstrong .
However, they could tell something was off with Armstrong .
“Did something happen while we were gone?”
Grace looked at her surroundings as she spoke .
“There’s no way more Golems made an appearance, right?”
“Stop saying such awful things!”
Emily shuddered at Tim’s words .
Sungyoon looked at his surroundings . Fortunately, he didn’t hear any explosions . None of the sectors of the city were part.i.tioned off .
“At the very least, no battle had taken place in Armstrong . ”
The party relaxed a little bit .
Tim stopped a pa.s.serby to ask a question .
“Excuse me . Did something happen in Armstrong?”
The man looked a bit annoyed as he looked at Tim . However, his eyes widened when he saw Sungyoon and Grace . He spoke in a polite manner .
“Something happened to the city built by China and Russia . ”
“Something bad happened?”
“Yes . We are unable to contact them . However, they were able to send a message out before the communication was cut off . They said their city was being attacked by monsters . ”
The faces of Sungyoon’s party hardened .
“They were attacked by monsters? Are you sure about this?”
“I heard it through the grapevine . There haven’t been any official statements yet . However, I know for sure that Armstrong is gathering all their high rank Connectors . According to the rumor, it is for the defense of this city . It seems you just came out of the Great Labyrinth . You’ll probably get a call from the higher-ups soon . ”
Defense . It was an odd subject to discuss when discussing Armstrong .
The monsters didn’t come out of the labyrinths, and the only hub of humanity on the moon was Armstrong . This had been true for the longest time .
However, this common knowledge had been subverted recently . It all started when Armstrong city was attacked by the Golems .
The party started moving towards the transport company to offload the moonstones .
“Ah . Mr . Woo Sungyoon and his party members!”
The receptionist brightened when he saw them .
“The mayor wants to see all of you . ”
***
Gagarin·Yang City .
China and Russia started building their own city when they saw weakness from Armstrong city . They created the city to take away the labyrinths and moonstones from the Western civilization, which was anch.o.r.ed by the US . It was a city created with great ambition in mind .
However, their city was currently being destroyed as if it was a bad dream .
The city was surrounded by monsters . Monsters kept pouring into the city through the several holes created in the outer walls .
The Connectors were desperately trying to stem the tide .
Kwahhhhhng!
One of the buildings inside the city blew up .
“What the h.e.l.l! Where did that explosion come from!”
“I’m pretty sure that’s the communication station . . . ”
“What?”
The Connectors, who had been desperately holding back the waves of monsters, turned to look behind them .
They caught sight of a burning building . It was completely destroyed .
“s.h.i.+t! Does that mean we can’t contact earth anymore? What does that mean for our reinforcement!”
Someone yelled out loud . He sounded downtrodden .
“Even if we continue to send messages to earth, they can’t immediately send reinforcement! We already contacted Armstrong city! Hold out until they come . ”
“Why the h.e.l.l would they come to save us!”
“I don’t know, you son of a b.i.t.c.h! Kill more monsters instead of talking!”
He had reached the limit of his patience when his comrades kept asking questions . He swung his mace at a nearby monster .
“Why did our communication station blow up suddenly!”
“I told you to just fight… I have no idea! Maybe some idiot pressed the self-destruct b.u.t.ton!”
“Do you think monsters have already infiltrated that deep?”
“I’d rather you shut up instead of talking like that!”
However, they continued to bicker with each other . It seemed they weren’t too pressed at that moment .
“s.h.i.+t! It is too hard to move because of the wind!”
Air was being sucked out of the holes in the wall . Soon, all the air inside the city would be gone .
Connectors didn’t breathe, so they weren’t worried about that . However, it would be a big problem if the Connectors couldn’t talk to each other .
‘Still, I think we can last for a while . . . ’
He became hopeful, but his hope was broken into pieces by the appearance of a particular monster .
-Hmm . Even if these are low-rank monsters, they are holding up better than expected .
The first thing his eyes went to was the b.r.e.a.s.t.s of a naked female .
There was something inhuman about her, but she had a beautiful face .
Moreover, she didn’t wear a st.i.tch of clothes, so some might think she was being overtly s.e.xual . However, none of the Connectors were aroused by her appearance .
“…what the h.e.l.l is that?”
Someone spoke .
-‘That’? Are you referring to me?
Her upper body turned slowly . It looked as if her upper body was turning in mid air .
However, that wasn’t the case . Her long lower body moved in a way that reinforced this illusion .
Her lower body was that of a snake .
“…it spoke?”
-Of course, I spoke . Did you think the speech is only exclusive to humans?
“This is crazy! s.h.i.+t!”
-You must be confused . It is understandable . You probably have no idea what is going on right now . However, that doesn’t matter . You guys are in our way .
Her name was Glaia, and she raised her two hands .
-Just die .
Chwahk!
Her fingernails extended forward . They were sharp as knives .
Glaia ruthlessly swung her fingernails .
Suh-guhk! Suh-guhk!
Weapons, s.h.i.+elds, and armor were useless against her .
Everything that got in the path of her fingernails was cut .
“Ooh! Ooh-ahhhhhhhk!”
A man yelled after his arm was severed . Those that had their head or body severed died instantly .
-I’m sorry . I’m inexperienced at this, so I made you feel pain . Don’t worry . I’ll end your pain soon .
She let out a cruel laugh as she raised her hand to finish the deed .
It happened at that moment .
Tuh-ung!
A spear had flown towards her, and she deflected it .
“Back off . ”
A man slowly approached her .
Alexei Volkov .
He was always mentioned when one discussed who was the strongest Connector in Russia .
“I’ll take care of that monster . ”
He picked up his spear from the ground as he spoke .
The nearby Connectors eyed him as they slowly moved away from Glaia . They focused on attacking the other monsters .
Glaia looked at her fingernails . There was a tingling sensation coming from them .
‘Even if my power was reduced, I can tell this one will cause me some trouble . ’
The fight against all the other Connectors felt like a walk in the park . However, the man in front of her was a formidable opponent .
Glaia’s sharp eyes glared at him . However, she didn’t get to fight against Volkov .
“I’m sorry, Glaia . Do you mind if I take care of him?”
Someone walked up next to Glaia . Volkov frowned when he saw who it was . Volkov knew him well .
“…why are you standing next to her, Sung Hyunwoo?”
Hyunwoo let out a smile full of meaning .