NOVEL NEXT Chapter 56
Chapter 56
Swoosh—
The large axe in Se-woon’s hand disappeared, scattering into gold dust as it vanished.
Although it was a valuable item for one-time use, there was no choice.
Even if the twin sisters created siege weapons, it would not only take a long time, but it was also uncertain whether they could break the tough gates of the Golden Castle.
Rather than taking an uncertain gamble, it was better to use a sure method, even if it meant sacrificing a weapon.
After all, Se-woon had acquired plenty of useful weapons from raiding five castles.
“Attack!”
“Chrrrk! I don’t know what trick you used, but the weapon that broke the gate is gone!”
“For the glory of the Golden Castle!”
The orcs, who had been relying on the gates, were flustered by its destruction.
But befitting their A+ rank, they quickly regained their composure, drew their weapons, and aimed them at Se-woon.
However, before they could take a step, Se-woon’s arm rose, and his mana circle spun fiercely.
– According to the mysteries of the Black Tower, the power of ‘Frozen Wave’ is enhanced.
Crack!
“Chrrrk!”
The castle floor froze, turning chillingly cold.
This spread naturally to the orcs standing on the ground, causing those in metal boots to become one with the floor as if magnets had clamped down on their feet.
No matter how much force they exerted, their feet wouldn’t come off the ground, and due to the nature of their full-body armor, they couldn’t remove their boots.
As he looked at the immobilized orcs, Se-woon drew out a new weapon.
“I have plenty of weapons besides that one.”
– Through internal energy, the third form of the Blood Wolf Sword Technique, “Blood Wolf Ambush,” is enhanced.
Roar!
The sharp howl of a wolf echoed.
The internal power swirling around Se-woon flickered, forming the shape of a blood-red wolf.
The moment Se-woon swung his sword, the wolf synchronized with his movements, jaws wide open, assaulting the orcs who couldn’t move.
“Gah!”
Even the ice on the ground couldn’t withstand the wolf’s ambush and shattered.
The fallen orcs were slashed and bitten by the wolf, leaving brutal wounds as they met their end.
“Chrrrk, it’s him! He’s the one who broke the gate of our castle!”
“Attack!”
More orcs emerged from inside the castle.
As Se-woon prepared to draw another weapon and activate the Demon God’s Treasuryt,
– Player Lee Ha-neul uses ‘Blood-Soaked Ward.’
Splat!
A new attack targeted the orcs.
It was support from the clan’s healer, Lee Ha-neul.
“Everyone, hang in there!”
“Cover Blood Wolf’s rear!”
“Attack!”
Unlike before his regression, Se-woon was no longer alone.
“Se-woon, go quickly!”
“Hyung, I’ll clear the path for you!”
As Se-woon’s clan charged in, a path momentarily opened.
Even though Se-woon’s clan couldn’t stand toe to toe with Glory Orcs directly, they trusted that if they could clear a path and buy some time, Se-woon would finish the job.
In that case,
“I’m counting on you.”
Taah!
Se-woon could only live up to their expectations.
Pushing off the ground, he sprinted down the cleared path.
“Chweeek! Block him!”
Boom!
“Chweek! Wh-What is this?”
Rocks were falling from the sky. Not just one but two massive boulders simultaneously.
Seeing this, Se-woon pictured the smiling faces of the twin sisters.
– The Constellation, ‘Black Bird,’ finds the method of reloading the catapult fascinating.
– The Constellation, ‘Giant Bird,’ marvels at the application of the power.
The size of the stones loaded onto the catapult was enormous. They were too heavy for one or two people to lift.
And considering the twin sisters didn’t possess strength comparable to Kang Han-cheol’s, reloading the catapult on their own was out of the question.
Before participating in the battlefield, Se-woon left the twin sisters with a piece of advice.
‘Why not use the power like this?’
Reduce the size of the rocks.
Of course, the powers of the two birds couldn’t reduce the size of ordinary materials. So, Se-woon suggested they shape the rocks into a more rounded form, suitable for the catapult.
As a result, the rocks stopped being mere materials and became the catapult’s ‘projectiles,’ which could be successfully reduced in size.
Boom, crash!
“They’re coming again!”
“Chweek! How can they throw rocks of that size like this…!”
Thanks to this, the twin sisters could continuously launch rocks.
Se-woon’s senses, heightened by countless treasures, could roughly estimate where the rocks would fall and avoid them accordingly.
In contrast, even when the orcs saw the rocks flying towards them, they couldn’t quickly evade due to their formation.
But only for a moment.
“We have no choice! Scatter!”
“Chweek! Scatter!”
Eventually, the orcs had to break their formation.
Staying in formation would only lead to meaningless sacrifices as they were crushed by the rocks.
Thanks to this,
Taah!
Se-woon’s speed increased even more.
With their formation broken, no matter how hard the orcs tried to block him, gaps inevitably formed.
– According to the mysteries of the Black Tower, the power of the ‘Frozen Wave’ is enhanced.
Crunch!
In the midst of his pursuit, the orcs attempting to ensnare Se-woon found their feet frozen solid.
– Opened the Treasury of Greed.
[ Nicheong (泥鰍功) ]
– A martial art of the Cheongseong Sect, named after the way it mimics the movements of a loach, allowing the user to evade enemy attacks fluidly, like water.
Even those who managed to avoid the ice and came charging at Se-woon failed to leave a scratch on him.
Swish, shwish!
Whether it was swords, spears, or maces, no weapon could touch Se-woon.
Nicheong.
A movement technique that allows the user to slip through the enemy’s attack range as smoothly as a loach escaping a grasp.
Though the sheer number of orcs rapidly drained Se-woon’s internal energy and mana, he didn’t care.
‘If I can just find the castle lord.’
Se-woon sought only one thing: the castle lord.
Utilizing the least amount of internal energy necessary to evade with Nicheong, he had no intention to attack the others.
Of course, in the meantime…
– Through internal energy, the second form of the Blood Wolf Swordsmanship, Blood Wolf Fang (血狼牙), is enhanced
Se-woon’s movements became sharper and faster through his enhanced technique, making it nearly impossible for any enemy to touch him as he sprinted through their ranks.
“Gah! Gurgle!”
Se-woon didn’t forget to slit the throat of what appeared to be an orc commander.
Killing a common soldier would only neutralize that individual’s combat strength, but taking down a commander could decrease the combat effectiveness of their entire unit by more than 20%.
Climbing the high stairs and crossing the golden banners, he made his way over the inner walls, finally reaching a building that looked like a palace.
Unlike the noisy exterior, the inner fort exuded an eerie tranquility, as if it were an entirely different world.
“Intruder. Are you alone?”
“Looks like the royal guard.”
“Correct. We are the direct guard of the castle lord, the Golden Knights.”
“Wow, typical orcs, came up with such a generic name.”
Twitch!
About twenty orcs frowned simultaneously.
Though Se-woon responded with a lighthearted joke, it was clear at a glance that these orcs were a different breed altogether from those he had faced before.
Each one appeared stronger than a standard commander.
Indeed, it was the Golden Castle.
Finding the castle lord wouldn’t be a walk in the park.
“You may have earned praise for infiltrating this far alone, but we, the Golden Knights, will tolerate no further encroachment.”
Boom!
In unison, they all struck the ground with their weapons.
From that motion alone, it was evident how well-trained they were. Their weapon skills were undoubtedly impressive.
To be honest, the individual strength of each member of this orc royal guard likely surpassed that of many who had just passed the third chapter of the tutorial.
Given that the Golden Castle was known for its rarity in being captured throughout the history of the tutorial.
‘One of the past successful captures I heard about was by Kashalakas’ clan.’
Kashalakas.
Despite his late entry into the tower, he rapidly climbed the ranks.
Well, it was only natural. He was from the esteemed and powerful race known as ‘Dragons.’
His clan was composed of Guardians who protected Dragon, making it impossible even for the Golden Castle to withstand them.
Kashalakas wasn’t the kind of player who needed to struggle through stages like the tutorial.
“Whether you tolerate it or not, there’s no way you’d just let me leave if I turned back now, right?”
“You understand well. Attack!”
“Attack!”
Thud!
The orcs charged at Se-woon.
Due to the weight of their heavy armor, the ground shook with each step they took.
Despite this, their steps were so synchronized that the tremors felt as if only a single orc were moving.
Watching the formation deployed by twenty orcs was like looking at an impenetrable wall.
There were no visible blind spots to evade their attacks, nor weaknesses to exploit.
However,
‘If there are no blind spots or weaknesses, I’ll just have to create them myself.’
He never counted on finding convenient openings.
Whoosh!
A black flame flared up in Se-woon’s grip.
Despite the intense heat radiating from it, the flame absorbed the surrounding light instead of illuminating the area, giving off a mysterious aura.
– According to the mysteries of the Black Tower, the power of ‘Dark Flare’ is enhanced.
Roar!
“Chweek!”
As Se-woon swung his arm, the flames spread, engulfing the orcs.
Even though their armor was fire-resistant, the black flames mysteriously clung to them like ticks, continuously emitting intense heat.
Dark Flare.
Unlike the spells of the Fire Tower, Dark Flare from the Black Tower had a stronger affinity to darkness than fire, and as long as Se-woon continued to supply mana, the flames would never extinguish.
The downside was its enormous mana consumption, as he had experienced before.
“Our valiant Golden Knights won’t fall to such trifling tricks!”
“Doesn’t look that way to me.”
While some orcs, like the one whose right arm was ablaze, maintained a glint of determination in their eyes, about half of them screamed in pain.
Their formation had long since crumbled.
Maintaining the Dark Flare, Se-woon pulled out a blunt weapon.
[ Gnome’s Compressed Mineral ]
Category: Blunt Weapon
Grade: C
Description: A weapon used by the lord of the filthy mine, Dantan, made by compressing and binding high-strength ores mined from the mine.
Abilities:
1. Bumpy – After an attack, deals an additional 20% damage to the target.
2. Lumpy – When attacking an enemy’s armor or shield, ignores 40% of their defense.
3. Mottled – Due to the various compressed ores, there is a chance to deal different elemental damage when attacking.
“For tough foes like you, blunt weapons are the solution.”
Se-woon owned a variety of weapons and wasn’t particularly fond of blunt ones, but the armor worn by these orcs had nearly no weak points, unlike the armor of other orcs.
Even with the Molar Dagger, targeting weak spots would be challenging.
Thus, he chose this blunt weapon.
With it, he could deliver crushing blows without worrying about their sturdy armor.
“Try blocking this.”
Boom!
Crunch—
When Se-woon swung the blunt weapon down, it obliterated the helmet of an orc who was rolling on the ground trying to extinguish the black flames.
Both the helmet and the head beneath were crushed completely.
“Ch-Chweek!”
– The ability ‘Wolf’s Threat’ of the ‘Red Wolf Armor’ causes nearby Golden Knights to fall into fear!
– The ability ‘Aura of Dominance’ of the ‘Gray Wolf Cloak’ strengthens charisma and worsens the enemy’s fear!
The once-confident orcs began to look visibly shaken.