Chapter 229
Chapter 229
“Mr . Harris is awake . ”
“Ah . Is that so?”
When Sungyoon spoke, Chelsea glanced toward the Moon Surface Vehicle .
“In my personal opinion, it would be best to take him back to Armstrong city as soon as possible . He spoke with such confidence, yet made a fool of himself . He must feel humiliated . ”
As soon as the Golem had appeared, the three 1st Gen Connectors had gone into a frenzy .
The one who looked the worst had been Harris . Chelsea clearly remembered that .
Sungyoon agreed with her . He had initially thought that Harris had something against him, but after speaking to other Connectors, Sungyoon learned that Harris had acted in a similar manner toward all of them .
‘He reaps what he sows . ’
With that thought, Sungyoon put Harris out of his mind . He then asked Chelsea .
“How were the test results?”
Chelsea worked on the tablet in her hands .
“The same . None of them produced meaningful data like you, Mr . Sungyoon . Although, one showed an increase in his strength . ”
Sungyoon, who was disappointed by the first sentence, perked up his ears .
“Schneider lasted longer than the others . The strength displayed by him at the end was quite significant . However, Mr . Sungyoon destroyed the Golem as soon as the change had occurred . Other than that, none of the three reported feeling any difference in power . ”
“We need to do more experiments . ”
“Yes, we do . However . . . ”
Chelsea looked at the Moon Surface Vehicle containing the three 1st Gens .
“I don’t think we can conduct any further experiments . ”
Sungyoon had the same thought .
‘We also have the extra burden that comes from lowering the overall number of Golems . ’
They had cleared another labyrinth of Golems . If the loss of Golems called forth the attacks from monsters, Armstrong had just taken another step toward their own destruction .
“We should head back . We won’t be able to conduct any further experiments at least for now . ”
Chelsea walked toward her research team, and Sungyoon followed her . After a while, they withdrew from the labyrinth . Several Moon Surface Vehicles drove across the surface of the Moon . Sungyoon decided to hitch a ride on one of the vehicles containing the researchers . He looked out the window to kill the time as the gray surface of the Moon pa.s.sed by at high speeds .
“Hoo-ahhhhhhhhm!”
Chelsea let out a big yawn next to him . She stretched her arms as her mouth fell open .
“Ooooh . This is so uncomfortable . ”
She had taken off her helmet, but she was still wearing her s.p.a.cesuit . After trying moving every which way, she still failed to create more s.p.a.ce within the s.p.a.cesuit . So she gave up trying to get more comfortable .
Soon, the sound of quiet even breaths came out of her body . She had fallen asleep from all the exhaustion .
Toohk!
Her head fell on Sungyoon’s shoulder, spreading her golden hair on him .
Sungyoon looked down at her .
“Mmm . Mmm-nyaa~!”
It seemed Chelsea liked the feel of Sungyoon’s shoulder as she clutched at Sungyoon’s arm and leaned onto him . Sungyoon looked at her for a brief moment, then moved his gaze out the window once again .
For a while, he could only feel the unpleasant vibration of the vehicle .
After some time . . .
“Ooh~ Mmm . ”
Chelsea’s eyes slowly opened . As she wiped away the drool around her mouth, she froze . Her round eyes stared at Sungyoon and rolled around to a.s.sess her current situation . Realizing it, she quickly parted from him in surprise .
“Ah . I’m, I’m sorry!”
“It’s fine . ”
Chelsea’s face turned red when she saw a large drool spot on Sungyoon’s shoulder .
“Oh, oh no! What should I do about this!”
She desperately tried to look for her handkerchief, but her tight s.p.a.cesuit didn’t allow for any items like a handkerchief .
“It’s fine . ”
Sungyoon was about to calm down the fl.u.s.tered Chelsea when he stopped . He had caught sight of something outside the opposite window . Instinctively, he injected his magical energy in his Gem to check what it was .
His senses sharpened, and he recognized the object .
‘Arrow?’
However, it was too late to take action against it .
Sungyoon grabbed Chelsea’s hand and pulled her in toward him . Chelsea was taken aback as her face turned red . However, without hesitating for even a moment, Sungyoon summoned his armor and raised his s.h.i.+eld .
He caught sight of Chelsea’s helmet, so he picked it up and yelled .
“Everyone, seal your s.p.a.ce suit and get down!”
The arrow flew true as it pierced the Moon Surface Vehicle .
In a flash . . .
Boom!
The s.p.a.ce sucked all the air inside the vehicle with a screaming sound . The impact ripped the Moon Surface Vehicle apart like paper, and its pieces were sent flying across the surface of the Moon .
The other Moon Surface Vehicles around them came to a stop .
Sungyoon stood atop the surface of the Moon . His face hardened as he looked at his surroundings . The Moon Surface Vehicle he had been riding until a moment ago had become a wreck of flesh, blood, and organs .
‘There are no other survivors . ’
Sungyoon found that the only Chelsea and him and survived . He looked at Chelsea, who remained in his arms . She was surprised, but that wasn’t the only reason why she was pale . Sungyoon quickly put the helmet over her head .
“Ha-ah! Ha-ah! Ha-ah!”
Chelsea rapidly breathed .
‘Will she be ok?’
Although it had been very brief, Chelsea had been exposed to s.p.a.ce, and she was a normal human .
‘Are you ok?’
Without his helmet, Sungyoon couldn’t talk to her, so he used hand gestures . Chelsea nodded as she hadn"t suffered any lasting damage .
The other Connectors exited their vehicles . One of them, who was acquainted with Sungyoon, moved his mouth . Sungyoon could guess that the man was asking what had happened, so he pointed toward the direction the arrow had come from .
The Connectors turned their heads, and they flinched at what they saw . An unknown group of attackers had suddenly appeared on the surface of the Moon . They were clad in armor that covered their entire body and face . Since they freely operated on the surface of the Moon, it was obvious that they were a group of Connectors .
Suddenly, Sungyoon’s eyes picked up something once again .
‘Another arrow!’
s.h.i.+elding Chelsea, Sungyoon raised his hammer . The arrow had been shot from a long distance, so he still had time . However, the arrow was flying at incredible speed . Sungyoon didn’t want Chelsea to suffer from the secondary effect of the attack, so he charged toward the arrow and swung his hammer .
Kwahhhng!
An explosion followed .
‘Koo-oohk!’
Sungyoon retreated a couple of steps .
It was merely an arrow, yet the power behind it was immense .
‘Is it . . . vibrating?’
Sungyoon opened and closed his hands to get rid of the tingling numbness . He looked around . None of his ambushers held a bow . His gaze went beyond them, but he still failed to spot the archer . He used his sight enhancing magic, yet the result was the same .
‘Someone is sniping me from a great distance . Even the eyes of a Connector failed to spot the person?’
The ambushers started to charge toward Sungyoon and his group . The latter raised their weapons as a response .
Sungyoon gestured Chelsea to retreat toward the rear, then charged forward with his s.h.i.+eld and ax in hand . As he reached the approaching group, he swung his ax toward his nearest enemy .
A heavy sensation ran up his hand as his opponent"s large s.h.i.+eld blocked the attack . However, the opponent was inferior in terms of strength and was pushed back . Sungyoon didn’t give the person any time to regroup .
He unsummoned his ax and s.h.i.+eld, and brought out the halberd . Before his opponent could get back into his defensive posture, Sungyoon stabbed him . His opponent’s movements became undisciplined, and he quickly brought up his s.h.i.+eld to block the halberd . As a result, he lost his balance for a split second .
When the halberd was about to hit the s.h.i.+eld, Sungyoon unsummoned it and changed his weapon to his hammer .
His opponent had expected the impact from the halberd, so his movement came to a brief halt .
Sungyoon struck the s.h.i.+eld with his hammer . A soundless explosion followed, and his opponent completely lost his balance . The halberd once again made its appearance, and Sungyoon hooked the halberd behind his opponent’s leg . The ambusher fell to the ground, and his upper body became exposed .
Sungyoon took up his ax to apply the finis.h.i.+ng blow . However, as he was about to swing it, something caused him to twist his upper body . A spear had flown in from the side, and its blade brushed past Sungyoon’s helmet .
‘s.h.i.+t!’
Sungyoon glared at the enemy who had interrupted him from the side . This second attacker"s face was hidden by a helmet, but his appearance was malicious . Sungyoon swung his ax toward this person, but the ax hit nothing as the second attacker twisted his upper body to dodge it .
Sungyoon let go of the ax, and due to its momentum, the ax continued on its path . At the same time, the hammer appeared . Sungyoon"s second attacker had been solely focused on the ax, so he looked taken aback .
A soundless explosion occurred once again .
The second attacker was sent flying to the side, and his upended figure landed on the surface of the Moon . His left arm, which had received the impact of the hammer, was bent at an odd angle .
However, Sungyoon once again couldn’t land the finis.h.i.+ng blow as an arrow flew toward him . His eyes looked beyond to see where the archer was located .
‘That b.a.s.t.a.r.d is stealthily focusing his attack on me . ’
Sungyoon defended the attack of another ambusher .
‘No . It isn’t just the archer . ’
The ambushers were grouped up in a way that made it clear Sungyoon was their primary target .
However . . .
‘They are beginners when it comes to fighting other humans . ’
Fighting monsters and fighting humans were two completely different things . It wasn’t just the ambushers . Sungyoon’s comrades looked clumsy when fighting other humans too .
Sungyoon was used to fighting against other humans now, and he pushed down on the bitterness caused by this fact . His side was doing a little better . After all, these Connectors were elites handpicked by Armstrong .
However, the arrows that came flying toward them at regular intervals was a problem . Whenever a Connector blocked the arrow with his s.h.i.+eld, his movement became slower, as the powerful vibration induced numbness in their muscles .
Sungyoon blocked the sword coming at his neck .
‘d.a.m.n it!’
He ground his teeth . The arrows were very annoying .
Sungyoon’s side slowly started to gain an advantage over the ambushers . After a while, the ambushers decided tp retreat, and at the same time, the barrage of arrows became fiercer .
It was clear that their opponents had called a general retreat .
‘We don"t need to chase after them . ’
Sungyoon watched the ambushers turn around in ones and twos . If he could have his way, he wanted to capture one of them for interrogation . However, he had to protect some people at the moment .
‘It could be a trap too . ’
Unfortunately, some of the Connectors in his party didn’t share the same view .
‘Wait!’
Sungyoon reflexively yelled at the couple of Connectors trying to chase after the ambushers . Of course, they couldn’t hear him .
‘s.h.i.+t . ’
He gestured the remaining Connectors to protect the researchers, then took off .
‘I’m not going to go too far . ’
He planned on catching up with the Connectors to tell them to stop chasing the ambushers . If they ignored his order, it couldn’t be helped and he would pull back . They would have to face the consequence of their own actions .
However, in front of his eyes, a phantom suddenly appeared on the surface of the Moon .
A sword literally emerged out of the ground, and the phantom swung it toward a Connector chasing after the ambushers . The Connector quickly raised his s.h.i.+eld, but the powerful attack sent him flying .
The arrow didn’t miss such easy prey .
Puh-uhng!
That was the sound that would have rung out if air existed in s.p.a.ce . The arrow connected with the body of the Connector and exploded it . Since the Connector was wearing armor, his flesh couldn"t explode outward . However, blood seeped out through the gaps in the armor, and one could tell what had happened by the sight of it .
The other Connectors chasing after the ambushers came to a stop . It was the same for Sungyoon, whose eyes had widened . However, the reason for the shock he felt was different than that for others .
His eyes gazed at the man clad in black armor and a black cape . A black greatsword graced his hands . It looked as if this man was obsessed with the color black, and in some ways, it completely contrasted in color with Sungyoon’s gear .
Surprisingly, Sungyoon knew that armor . In the past, a proud Jimin had shown him a picture, where her younger self was standing next to a figure . The armor worn by the figure in that picture was similar to the one in front of Sungyoon"s eyes now .
‘… Hahn Jungb.u.m?