Chapter 377 |
Ch-ch-ch-ch-clangs!
The loud rattling of chains echoed everywhere. Chains burst forth from the magic circle, instantly blanketing the air and surging with menacing force toward the vagrant.
"Wh-what?"
Jeonghan panicked at the ability that had appeared so suddenly, right before his eyes. It was a power he had never encountered before. His senses screamed a warning, and he tried to dodge, but in that brief moment of hesitation, the chains had already coiled around his entire body. Soon, the chains wound as tightly as a silkworm's cocoon, began to slowly lift the vagrant into the air.
Watching the man suspended in the air, Shin Sang-yong dazed himself up. He had no other thoughts. The joy of finally summoning the magical beast, the fear of facing death—in this moment, he forgot it all.
There was only one thing on his mind. A final burst of life dedicated to the single thought that he had to save the others. Driven by this conviction, Shin Sang-yong shouted all his might.
"Imprison!"
Kilieeeek!
Perhaps because it was a reflection of Shin Sang-inner state, Imprison's reaction was violent. The coiled chains seemed to tighten for an instant before flowing like water, twisting and raking across the vagrant's entire body.
"Kuaaaaaahk!"
A horrifying scream erupted from within the cocoon of chains. The ink-black iron chains, imbued with magic power, tore the vagrant's body to shreds in a single motion. Then, they unraveled completely, revealing the scene within.
Thump!
A mangled piece of meat, looking like a tattered rag and dripping blood from every inch of its body, fell to the ground.
"Jeonghan!"
"What the—?!"
Finally noticing that something was wrong, the other vagrants let out shrill screams. Shin Sang-yong's head snapped up. His eyes fell on Ahn Hyeon, lying motionless on the ground, and Lee Yu-jeong, now pinned down and being toyed with. In that instant, his usually calm and serene eyes blazed with a fierce light.
Shin Sang-yong flicked his hand violently.
Clang! Clang!
Dozens... no, countless chains, almost numbering in the hundreds, split into three groups and surged forward. The three remaining vagrants cried out in horror at the chaotic storm of chains rushing toward them.
The woman sitting on Ahn Hyeon quickly turned to flee, but evasion was the wrong choice. The chains, as if alive, changed their trajectory to match her movements, spreading out in a circle to envelop her body. They had deployed in all directions, leaving her no room to escape.
"Keuk!"
As the chains constricted with full force, they grew taut, and the woman's face began to turn red.
The man who had been admiring the equipment nearby fared no better. Since he was standing, he reflexively batted away the chains coming at him from the front, but he eventually exposed his side to the chains that whipped from above, below, left, and right. The moment they struck both sides of his rib cage, he felt the agony of shattering bones and immediately lost consciousness.
"What the hell is this?!" the man who had been pinning Lee Yu-jeong yelled, swinging his axe like a windmill. He seemed quite skilled, his movements anything but ordinary, but his hands grew increasingly frantic as he tried to fend off the chains.
Just then, Shin Sang-yong clenched his open palm into a fist. The chains, which had been attacking relentlessly, began to change their pattern. Some simultaneously latched onto the axe, binding it, while the rest crossed in a lattice pattern to form a net.
The newly formed net of chains rushed toward the man.
"Shit!"
Realizing it was pointless to resist, the man cursed and dropped his axe. He tried to pull back, but his body suddenly tilted. He looked down in horror. On the ground, Lee Yu-jeong was reaching out with one arm, her eyes gleaming with venom. Her hand was gripping his ankle tightly. His eyes widened like saucers.
"You crazy—!"
Before he could finish, Lee Yu-jeong yanked his ankle hard, and the net of chains slammed into him.
Thwack!
"Aargh!"
In an instant, the tables had turned.
As the man stumbled, Lee Yu-jeong snatched a dagger that had been cast aside nearby. Then, with the fluid grace of a cat, she performed the feat of leaping onto his stomach. The hand holding the dagger drew back sharply.
"Fucking bastard!"
"S-Save me... gurgle!"
Before the man could finish his plea, Lee Yu-jeong struck without hesitation, plunging the dagger down. Bloody foam frothed at his lips. But it didn't end with one strike. As if determined to pay back everything she had suffered, she began to repeatedly stab down with the 'Skurepf' in her hand.
Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab!
"Gurgle, gurgle!"
With every flash of the red blade, the man's body twitched.
She must have stabbed him over a dozen times. Even after his tensed feet went limp, the dagger showed no sign of stopping. Only when the man's face was mangled beyond recognition did Lee Yu-jeong finally come to her senses. Besides her, she heard the sound of chains and a mournful scream.
Clang, clang!
It was only then that the vagrants fighting the Queen of Swords finally turned their gazes to the side. One by one, they let out deep groans. The four vagrants who had charged in so confidently were now sprawled on the ground, not a single one of them left unscathed.
Confirming the deaths of their comrades, the vagrants' eyes all focused on Shin Sang-yong. In a way, it was the first time he had ever received such attention.
In terms of stats alone, Shin Sang-yong could by no means be considered weak. The primary measure of a mage's level was their Magic Power stat. When he first met Kim Soohyun, it was at 85 points; after some growth, it was now in the mid-to-late range. On top of that, by inheriting a Rare Class, he had created and evolved new abilities.
Even if he had benefited from the element of surprise, having now perfectly summoned a magical beast and taken care of four vagrants, Shin Sang-yong was undeniably 'strong.' He wasn't on Kim Soohyun's level, able to command and overturn an entire battlefield, but he was more than capable of having a significant impact on a small-scale battle like this.
"Pant... pant..."
Shin Sang-yong gasped for breath, feeling an unfamiliar emotion.
Thump. Thump.
His heart was still pounding and his whole body trembled, but he felt strangely refreshed. Was this what it felt like to have a weight lifted from his chest? He had merely summoned a single magical beast, but within him, a feeling quite different from before was beginning to well up.
He slowly lowered his outstretched hand. As if obeying his command, the chains returned and coiled around him, hanging down like the vines of a dense jungle. The magical beast, towering in the air, stared down at the motionless vagrants, ready to lash out with its chains at any moment.
"What... is that now?"
Lee Kang-san unconsciously took a step or two back and muttered under his breath. It was a truly dumbfounding situation. While he couldn't say they had victory in the bag, the tide of battle had been slowly turning in their favor. He hadn't paid any attention to the fledglings on the left, but at some point, one of them had grown into a force to be reckoned with.
Of course, it wasn't a completely hopeless situation... Lee Kang-san glanced at the Queen of Swords. Though she was panting with exhaustion, the aura she exuded hadn't lost its sharp edge. It was obvious that if those two joined forces, things would get difficult.
Ch-ch-ch-ch-clangs!
As Shin Sang-yong flicked his hand again, half the chains moved to defend his surroundings while the other half plunged into the midst of the crushing vagrants. This time, however, the vagrants did not go down so easily. Fully prepared, they cut and batted away the incoming chains, scattering in all directions.
But Shin Sang-yong was unshaken. He knew full well that while the surprise attack had been effective before, it wouldn't work now. That was why he had deliberately pulled the Queen of Swords to his side while the vagrants were momentarily stopped. If he could create openings and space for her, she would undoubtedly shine.
With that in mind, Shin Sang-yong intended to fight a supportive battle to cover the Queen of Swords.
The ensuing battle brought Lee Kang-san's fears and Shin Sang-yong's calculations to life.
Using the information provided by 'Magic Fortification Construction,' Shin Sang-yong swung
his chains in every direction, doing his utmost to obstruct the approaching enemies. Instead of attacking head-on, he aimed for their backs to disrupt their paths, wrapped chains around their ankles to break their balance, and used chains to parry magic spells coming from a distance. And whenever a clear opportunity presented itself, a chain would mercilessly wrap around a vagrant's neck.
Shin Sang-yong was wielding Imprison as if in a trance. He was truly squeezing out every last ounce of strength he had. Now that the dam had broken, his 'Matań' was no longer an obstacle. The magic power he drew out to its limit was coursing freely through his circuits, and the circuits enduring it were running red-hot.
Amidst all this, the person having the most fun was, in fact, the Queen of Swords. She had initially charged in a fit of rage, but later regretted losing her composure when she was pushed onto the defensive. But now, with the support of a Rare Class User, it was like she could finally breathe again, and she began to display her true skills.
The vagrants, on the other hand, were having a miserable time. A single chain wasn't much of a threat, but when several of them came at them relentlessly, it was incredibly distracting. And if they managed to break through, they were met with the sight of the Queen of Swords, her eyes gleaming from within a whirlwind of dozens of chains.
They had gained a slight advantage in the battle of attrition, but this was the same Queen of Swords they couldn't easily subdue even when she was alone. It was a touch-and-go fight even when they focused all their attention on her; now, they couldn't even focus, let alone fight a battle of attrition.
Moreover, it wasn't just the two of them. Lee Yu-jeong, who was guarding Shin Sang-yong's perimeter and watching for an opportunity, was also subtly grating on the vagrants' nerves.
"Kuaaaahk!"
By the time the first scream came from somewhere, Lee Kang-san realized it. As long as his opponents remained purely on the defensive, winning this fight would take much longer than he thought.
And perhaps... they might even lose.
A belated regret crept into Lee Kang-san's mind. If only they hadn't charged in so recklessly, if only they had formed a proper team composition... But that thought was fleeting. Now that it was clear this was a war of attrition, he immediately shouted.
"Damn it! Fall back for now!"
The vagrants, too, had just felt the battle suddenly become more difficult. They immediately stopped circling within the chains and retreated in an instant.
"It won't be easy. What are your orders?"
"Hngh..."
After putting some distance between them, Lee Kang-san answered the panting vagrant with a groan.
Dragging this out would do them no good. Their relationship with the Western Continent was provisionally broken due to Simon's attempt to use them as shields, and even if that weren't the case, support troops from the East were due to arrive soon. It was a bitter pill to swallow, letting go of the Queen of Swords they had searched so long for, but if they wasted any more time here, they might get caught.
Even as he thought this, Lee Kang-san's gaze lingered on the Queen of Swords with regret. She still stood tall amidst the chains, staring back at the vagrants.
The vagrant pressed him once more.
"I understand how you feel, sir, but the situation is a bit urgent."
.......
Lee Kang-san said nothing, but his silence was a tacit agreement.
Just then, Lee Kang-san suddenly whipped his head around, staring in one direction. His face contorted, and he spoke in an urgent voice.
"Fuck! Did they notice? Everyone, pull out! We're leaving the battlefield right now!"
The vagrants began their retreat. Watching them slowly back away before turning to flee, Shin Sang-yong felt a sense of relief.
And the Queen of Swords tilted her head slightly in confusion.