NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 362
Chapter 363
When Yeon-woo and his party arrived on the battlefield, chaos had already taken hold. Strange monsters, unlike anything seen before, roamed the area.
There were living fog, tentacle giants, and many more… Countless monsters were sweeping across the battlefield.
“What the heck is this?”
No, the situation itself was easy to understand. The Nephren-Ka should have shown up after being killed, but it had opened a portal to the outside world. The result was exactly what was visible now.
While I was organizing my thoughts, Riley’s voice echoed through Relin’s Warehouse. Though she was trying to sound calm, a sense of urgency seeped through her heated tone.
[Yeon-woo, what’s happening? We’re receiving reports of unidentified monsters appearing everywhere.]
‘We killed the Nephren-Ka, and now the Demon King has descended. But they pulled a fast one and showed up outside the Sacred Grounds instead.’
[… So the Demon King is unleashing monsters in all directions? Understood. I’ll relay the message to focus on defense rather than elimination for now. Good luck.]
Hearing Yeon-woo’s explanation, Riley quickly reached a conclusion. Interpreting her words, it meant to wipe out the Demon King ASAP. Pressure mounted sharply. But she wasn’t wrong.
The hunters participating in this war were elite. Only those who had the strength and confidence to face the Demon King’s army had been selected.
Even these elite hunters were at a loss against the unidentified monsters. Considering the disparity in power, it was wise for the fights elsewhere, where the fighters were weaker, to adopt a defensive stance.
But how to defeat them defensively, you ask? Simple. If those monsters come from the Demon King, just like the snakes summoned by Shuyo, they would disappear once the Demon King was killed.
In other words, if the hero could just finish off the Demon King, everything would be solved.
‘If only that hero wasn’t me…’
It felt overwhelming. Still, motivation was clear. If I couldn’t dispose of the Demon King quickly, that meant countless people around the world would perish.
“That can’t happen! For now, scatter and stick to whoever looks weaker!! First, save the people!!”
“Okay, but let me know when you’re going for the Demon King!?”
At Yeon-woo’s words, Namgung Seong was the first to spread his wings and take off. In the direction he flew, a fog seemed to slither toward the hunters as if it were alive.
While others were engaged in combat, they didn’t even know how to fight that fog, so it seemed they were struggling with that as well.
No matter how hard they tried to fight, the moment they approached the fog, their bodily fluids seemed to be sucked out as if a swarm of mosquitoes had latched onto them, and they were gripped by fear. In the end, there was no choice but to run while trying to distract the fog.
“…Then I’m going that way too.”
Baek In-hwa thought of heading towards Baek Joo-han’s location, but she ended up following Namgung Seong.
Perhaps she was worried that she was the only one who hadn’t mastered anything among them.
Baek Joo-han was busy dealing with a monster shaped like a black storm, which meant that the fog’s cold elemental mana would likely be effective against it.
“Then I’ll go with that one!”
Kim Yoo-min pointed at a beautiful man clad in white robes. With an exceptionally benevolent expression, he was engaging with someone, tossing them into the air or hugging them to crush them—methods far from his appearance.
Wow, even if he looks human, he doesn’t hesitate at all, Yoomin… I’m quite moved…
Kim Hyun-soo charged into the battlefield with a fearsome expression. It was to be expected. A person who harbors such hatred for monsters wouldn’t sit idle while watching people being killed by them.
Well, Kim Hyun-soo didn’t need to worry. From here on, I just had to handle my own situation. Thinking that, Yeon-woo glanced back at Nea.
“I’ll take Shar. You can move on your own judgment, right?”
“Got it. I’m sure there’s plenty for me to do on this battlefield, so move confidently.”
As Nea said that, she looked toward a corner of the battlefield. Strangely enough, there was a fight erupting among the hunters.
Those swinging weapons at their allies were either lost in madness or making strange sounds as they moved.
It must be a mind-control type monster. For sure, that’s something Nea should handle.
Interfering with something like that would be the domain of green mages or those with such superior skills that dividing them into categories would be meaningless.
Seeing Nea approach them with determined eyes, Yeon-woo also moved forward and asked Shar and Tae-oh.
‘Are you ready!?’
[Of course!!]
[Just tell me what to do, Dad.]
Both kids seemed incredibly eager. They were certainly lively spirits. However, I didn’t want to drag them into battle for days on end, but alas, what could I do about this lack of parenting skill of mine?
*
The first thing Yeon-woo did was make contact with the Hunter Guild Master. He could roughly guess the situation, but there’s a huge difference between hearing explanations and not hearing them at all.
He wanted to hear it from Samiryun-ju, whom he had a rapport with, but it seemed she was too busy, so he decided it was better to approach the Guild Master giving commands at the back.
“Hello, Guild Master.”
“Switching units C and J… Ah, Yeon-woo! Long time no see! I’m Guild Master Reuters. You’ve joined us, I see?”
“Sorry for interrupting during your busy time, but I really need to catch up on what’s happening. Could you assign someone to explain?”
“Of course. I would like to explain myself, but the situation is quite urgent. Anis, please take over!”
“Understood!”
When Reuters raised his voice, a woman who had been drawing her bow at the rear promptly answered and sprinted over. As a part of the shooting squad, she would definitely have a good view of any commotion.
A neatly cut bob-haired woman let out a sigh and approached Yeon-woo. They stood a bit aside to avoid interrupting Reuters.
The sky opened, and black objects began to pour out. Initially, only tentacle giants emerged, but once they were taken down, monsters started to pour out all of a sudden.
“Did Samiryun-ju say anything?”
“Hmm, I think I heard her cursing at the hole in the sky…”
“Are you saying Samiryun-ju actually cursed at that hole? Are you sure?”
“Y-Yes, absolutely!”
You know, you didn’t have to go that far with confirmation. I just wanted to make sure I heard that correctly. Doing that only heightens her fame and brings unnecessary side effects.
“Alright, Anis. Thanks for sharing. I’ll take off now, so please return to your post as well.”
“Ah, um… Could you give me an autograph later…?”
As Yeon-woo was about to dash into the battlefield, Anis halted him, wiggling her fingers in a delicate manner. In that awkward atmosphere, Yeon-woo could only respond with a simple, “Sure, later.”
[Dad is trying to charm another woman!!]
[He can’t fix that habit even after getting scolded by Mom. What a naughty person.]
If he were to be precise, it wasn’t charm; it was charm coming back to him. Honestly, it’s hard to say that a fan’s affection is just charm.
Anyway, with one more fan to please, Yeon-woo unfurled his flight magic and leaped into the sky. If Dooko-hyun had cursed at the sky, then that hole definitely has something inside it.
However, measuring the exact altitude of that seemingly close hole was necessary.
‘Tae-oh, do you think we can reach it?’
[… Hmm, not sure. The distance feels off. It’s like it’s not bound by the same physical laws.]
Oh, is this one of the Demon King’s tricks? I might need to talk to Dooko-hyun about that part too.
With that in mind, Yeon-woo pressed down on the mana of his flight magic while shooting himself off towards the ground, creating a 45-degree angle slope.
The target was a swarm of bats that Dooko-hyun was engaging. Countless bat-like creatures were soaring through the sky, crashing down one by one as Dooko-hyun swung his hand.
Though the bats fiercely attacked Dooko-hyun, he was fending them off effortlessly thanks to his thick defensive power.
He was handling them in such a way that only someone like Dooko-hyun could manage; otherwise, regular hunters would be wiped out by those bats. The agility and strength were no joke.
Pumping enough mana into my legs, I kicked off from the platform created by my flight magic. At an astonishing speed, the landscape flowed by, and in the blink of an eye, Yeon-woo found himself among the bat swarm.
The doppelganger flowing from his sleeve took the form of a sword in Yeon-woo’s hand. Swinging a sword in mid-air normally lacked grip, making it hard to exert power, but with Aura Blade, that concern was thrown out the window.
The blade swung by Yeon-woo spread out like mist around him. A thin Aura Blade, yet its destructive power held overwhelming strength.
At the very least, even in this hunting scenario, where bodily abilities were purely on display, simply touching them would wipe them out.
Kyeeeek!!
The bats shrieked in panic. The noise was so shrill it could make even ordinary hunters lose their sanity, but Yeon-woo easily brushed it aside. Come on, I’ve been hit by sound attacks more than once.
Thud, thud, thud!!
The bats that made contact with the mist fell to the ground. Among them, one bat fell, and Yeon-woo landed beside Dooko-hyun.
“Ugh, that blood is super gross.”
“Oh, Yeon-woo? Feels like it’s been too Long time no see, right? How’s Tae-oh and Shar?”
“They’ve been good, Samiryun-ju!”
“Doing well! Hello there, Grandfather!”
“Nice to see you!”
Dooko-hyun welcomed Yeon-woo warmly. Tae-oh and Shar peeked from behind Yeon-woo and greeted him happily.
He might be a dangerous character, yet Tae-oh and Shar liked him. In fact, is there anyone in this world that dislikes Tae-oh and Shar?
“I’ve got some questions to ask, but should we deal with these guys first?”
“Right, it was just a nuisance. As you know, my ability to clear out these pesky creatures isn’t that great, so please help me out.”
“Understood. I can’t let someone like Samiryun-ju be idle.”
“Your intentions are very black, aren’t they?”
If you can’t handle it, just get a bit weaker, maybe? I’m only making you work because you’re strong~.
(To be continued in the next chapter)