#061
Oh Seongeun created about a dozen ice spears and shot them forward. The goblins hit by the ice spears fell to the ground. However, there were too many in the horde. The creatures, seemingly enraged by their comrades’ deaths, began shooting spears and arrows again.
It was time for a ranged attacker. It would take too long for Oh Seongeun to handle them alone. Eunseok took out the automatic rifle slung over his shoulder and aimed it at the front. Starting from the left edge of the goblin horde, he began picking off the armed ones, blowing their heads off one by one.
Ratatat-! Ratatat-!
With each three-round burst, the heads of goblins holding wooden spears and bows exploded like watermelons.
Seeing Eunseok’s attack, Oh Seongeun rained ice spears on the right side of the goblin horde. As if coordinated, the two of them systematically eliminated the goblin horde from both ends. The group in the center frantically threw their weapons, but Han Cheolyong’s barrier prevented any from reaching the team.
Click-.
Eunseok quickly replaced the empty magazine and peered through the scope with sharp eyes, continuing to target only the armed ones and blow their heads off.
Most of the spear and bow-wielding goblins died under Eunseok and Oh Seongeun’s ranged attacks. The creatures, seemingly out of projectiles, squeaked in confusion before starting to jump into the puddles. The knee-deep water for adults was quite deep for them. Nevertheless, they approached the team through the water, driven by murderous intent.
“We’ll push through like this!” Han Cheolyong shouted as he began to advance. Eunseok approached Oh Seongeun, who had rejoined the original formation, and placed his hand on his exposed nape to perform contact guiding. Oh Seongeun’s energy had become quite volatile after unleashing continuous ranged attacks in a short time. As Eunseok applied strong guiding, the tension in Oh Seongeun’s shoulders gradually eased.
“Thank you, Guide,” Oh Seongeun said as he sloshed forward.
“It’s my job, after all,” Eunseok replied softly, finishing the guiding and removing his hand. As he turned to return to his position, he locked eyes with Choi Hanseo. As always, standing at the very back of the group, he…
Ah, how annoying.
Eunseok almost blurted out his thoughts.
Choi Hanseo was walking steadily on the water’s surface. Unlike the others, who were covered in mud and water, there wasn’t a single trace of water or mud on his clothes.
As Eunseok shot him an annoyed glance, Choi Hanseo smiled slightly.
‘Need help?’ Choi Hanseo mouthed silently.
“…So annoying,” Eunseok muttered to himself as he turned back to rejoin the formation. Of course, it would have been heard clearly by Choi Hanseo, whose senses exceeded human limits, and that was intentional.
Finally, the goblin horde and the team clashed.
Han Cheolyong, Moon Bora, and Shin Jeongho, who had only been able to watch the ranged battle until now, began enthusiastically dispatching goblins, undeterred by the sinking mud puddles. Seeing the three go wild, Ji Taeuk took out water bottles from his backpack and tossed one each to Oh Seongeun and Eunseok. He then took one for himself and began gulping it down urgently.
“Hyung, are you okay?” Eunseok asked Ji Taeuk, who was visibly out of breath. Ji Taeuk nodded with a tired face after emptying half the bottle in one go.
“I understand why it took so long at Sehwa. It’s been a while since I’ve faced such a difficult A-rank.”
Ji Taeuk said, looking back at the swamp they had traversed with shocked eyes. His face showed disbelief at how they had managed to endure this far.
“But we’re nearing the end of the swamp area,” Eunseok said reassuringly, observing the situation at the front that was almost cleared.
“Ah, I really wanted to run home when it felt like this would never end,” Ji Taeuk said with a haggard face as he put the half-empty water bottle back in his backpack.
It didn’t take long to completely deal with the goblin horde. Once within attack range, the goblins were no match for the team members.
Soon, the green blood of the goblins spread thickly in the shallow puddles.
“Let’s rest a bit on solid ground,” Han Cheolyong said, kicking aside the goblin corpses at his feet as he started to move forward.
The ground they stepped on was still somewhat muddy, but nothing compared to the puddles. Everyone sat down as soon as they reached solid ground. Except for Ji Taeuk, it seemed that mental fatigue was higher than physical exhaustion.
“Wow, that was really shitty. I’d rather keep fighting monsters. This is truly not something we should be doing,” Moon Bora muttered while gulping down water. The team members nodded in agreement.
Ji Taeuk took out energy bars from his backpack and tossed one to each team member. Eunseok also received one and started eating it.
The damp, fishy wind characteristic of swamps swept over their sweat-soaked bodies. Surrounded by goblin corpses and blood puddles, the stench was terrible. But the long-awaited rest still felt sweet. Eunseok quickly chewed and swallowed an energy bar, rinsed his mouth with water, and glanced at Choi Hanseo.
Choi Hanseo stood apart from the group, gazing intently at the top of the high mountain range. Eunseok followed his gaze but could only see a faint outline of the peak shrouded in hazy mist. However, Choi Hanseo seemed to see something else. With his inhuman senses, that was probably the case.
Eunseok hesitated for a moment, then took out a new water bottle from his backpack and stood up. Each step towards Choi Hanseo made a sloshing sound.
“Have some water,” Eunseok said, offering the water bottle to Choi Hanseo. Choi Hanseo looked at the extended water bottle with a somewhat unfamiliar gaze.
“Even if you’re not thirsty, it’s good to stay hydrated,” Eunseok insisted, offering the water bottle again. Choi Hanseo raised his eyes to look at Eunseok’s face for a moment, then smiled very slightly.
“Alright,” Choi Hanseo said, taking the water bottle. As he opened the cap and drank, his Adam’s apple moved prominently. His clean neck, without a trace of sweat, caught Eunseok’s eye. Eunseok quickly turned and went back to his original spot.
Sitting down and checking the remaining bullets in his magazine, Eunseok felt strange gazes on him. Looking up, he saw all the team members staring at him with peculiar expressions.
“What?” Eunseok asked Ji Taeuk, who was sitting close to him. Ji Taeuk glanced at Choi Hanseo, then back to Eunseok. He seemed to want to say something, his lips moving slightly, but then he shook his head.
“We’ve rested for 20 minutes. Let’s get going,” Team Leader Hong said, checking his watch. Though the time was short, it seemed enough for mental recovery as everyone stood up without any sign of reluctance. Of course, resting longer would be an excessive luxury given the possibility of a gate break.
After defeating three more goblin hordes, the team finally entered the foothills of the rugged mountain range densely covered with trees.
According to the information provided by Sehwa Guild, this area was inhabited by orcs and ogres. Eunseok recalled the information he had seen in the limousine van on the way here. Orcs and ogres were monsters with some level of intelligence. They also used weapons made of wood and stone.
Due to the dense, large trees, it was impossible to maintain a perfect formation. Han Cheolyong, Moon Bora, and Shin Jeongho took the lead in a triangular formation, maintaining an appropriate distance as they began climbing the mountain.
The slope was quite steep. Eunseok thought that he could manage this journey only because of his special training; other guides would never be able to handle it.
There was a possibility of monsters jumping out from behind the large trees at any moment. Especially since these creatures were intelligent enough to use weapons, there was a good chance of ambushes.
Everyone climbed the mountain in silence, keeping a sharp eye on their surroundings. Despite being cautious of their surroundings, they moved at a considerably fast pace. This was likely due to the uncertain timing of the gate break.
After climbing for about thirty minutes…
“Attack!” Han Cheolyong shouted, raising his shield above his head. The sound of something flying through the air could be heard. Soon after, a large object collided with Han Cheolyong’s shield with a loud bang.
The object that bounced off the shield crashed into a nearby large tree with a thud. It was a stone axe made by tying a heavy stone to a thick wooden handle.
Eunseok immediately hid Ji Taeuk behind him and raised his automatic rifle.
Kwueeeek-!!!
A loud cry shook the mountain, sounding like a war horn signaling the start of battle. Soon, the monsters hidden behind the trees on the upper slopes began rushing towards the team all at once. Each of the bipedal creatures held a primitive weapon in hand. Their faces were too grotesque to be considered Earth creatures.
Eunseok, who had no hesitation in eliminating humans who were inherently adversaries, felt even less need to hesitate when faced with these bizarre-looking opponents.
Ratatat-! Ratatat-!
Eunseok drew an imaginary line in his mind and calmly began blowing off the heads of enemies charging from angles that were difficult for his teammates to cover, one by one.
