LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 71
“Wh-What is happening…?”
While the man who confidently assured us of our success was in a panic, the Awakened Ones on the naval side were already in complete disarray, unable to respond before the two boss-level monsters.
“…Is that really okay?”
Song Ha Yeon uttered in a worried tone, and Seo Ha beside her also frowned.
“We need to save them. Who can move on the water?”
“Th-That’s going to be difficult. A few can move, but are you suggesting we fight against that number of monsters out there?”
The man’s words weren’t exactly wrong. It was undoubtedly a tough job.
However, if it came to that, the Awakened Ones over there would all end up dead without a chance to fight back. With a heavy sigh, Seo Ha grabbed a spear from one of the Hunters.
“I’ll go. Just keep the monsters from getting out of this area.”
“W-What? That’s dangerous!”
“I’m used to this kind of thing.”
Unable to deter Seo Ha’s determination as she boldly stepped towards the beach, the man had no choice but to assign a few from the team to support her.
I approached Seo Ha and asked,
“Do you think you can catch them?”
“…I’ll have to try somehow. It’ll be dangerous; are you coming too, Oppa?”
“I’m good at naval combat as well.”
It wouldn’t look good if I just stood back while my only remaining sister went to fight.
“What about me?”
“…You two just stay back and hold your ground here.”
Leaving Gordon and Song Ha Yeon on the beach, we began to make our way towards the boss monsters.
Whoosh.
Boom.
Splash.
“If I use my water barrier, we can move underwater. Everyone, get on board.”
The mage who joined as support raised water to create a moving sphere, but Seo Ha shook her head and stepped directly onto the water’s surface.
Splash.
“I can walk on my own.”
Amazingly, Seo Ha managed to maintain her balance on the choppy water through her application of magic.
The mage, left speechless by this sight, quickly gathered his wits and asked me the same question.
“Then can we just use the water barrier…?”
“I don’t need it.”
Whoosh.
We had our own methods. I made a brief hand gesture, and several undead monsters followed behind, sequentially creating stepping stones.
“Ah, I see…”
In the end, the mage boarded the water barrier with a complicated expression on his face alongside his comrades.
And so, we pushed through the monsters scattered around to the place where the fierce battle against the bosses was taking place.
Kieek!
Kieek!
“Water Cannon!”
“Strong Bow!”
Pew!
Boom!
Bang!
Honestly, I thought it would be of no use, but surprisingly, the Hunters following us were deftly continuing the fight.
It seemed their claim of proficiency in underwater combat wasn’t a lie.
Yet, their skills were completely overshadowed by Seo Ha’s significant contributions at the forefront.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Kieek!
“Half-Moon Slash.”
Sever!
Swoosh—
Even though she was fighting with a borrowed spear, it was clear to anyone watching that her skill was exceptional.
The speed at which she launched her spear was nearly invisible, and each strike punctured the bodies of the foes precisely.
When she unleashed her skill and swung the spear widely, the sea before her momentarily split deep.
‘…She’s really strong.’
Honestly, it was the first time I was seeing her fight directly, and I was quite taken aback.
Although I had seen video footage before, it was hard to gauge the true power of high-ranking Hunters from that alone.
To be honest, if I were to fight side by side with Seo Ha at this moment, I felt I would be torn apart in an instant, so I had no room to boast.
I understood why Helena praised her so highly.
“We’re almost there. Everyone, stay alert.”
Swish!
Boom!
Bang!
Now we weren’t far from the bosses. The continuous booming sounds pierced our ears, and the crashing of the waves could be heard panicking all around us.
‘It looks like they’re holding up somehow…’
The ship was nearly capsized and on the verge of sinking, but somehow, the Awakened Ones, being a skilled unit, were still seen facing the bosses.
Boom!
Boom!
“Gaaah!”
But the situation was still grim.
The formation of the unit had already been shattered, and they were unable to cooperate effectively, making it difficult to inflict proper damage upon the enemy.
“It seems we’re completely split apart.”
In front of the Great Octopus and the gigantic eels that served as dungeon bosses.
Seo Ha quickly made a decision.
“I’ll handle the boss somehow.”
“C-Can you really do it by yourself?”
“Just distract the other one. No need to push yourself to fight.”
Leaving that remark, Seo Ha charged towards the boss without looking back.
Kuooh!
Slash!
Scrape!
Stimulated by her pure magic, the Great Octopus reached out with its tentacles to attack, but all of it was shredded and howled in pain as Seo Ha activated her skill.
If there ever was a moment to drop them, it was now.
“Go and attack.”
Kieek.
Kieek!
Giant jellyfish, sea folk, sea lions, etc. I sent forth the undead monsters to charge in, creating stepping stones through the few left behind and began luring the Great Octopus.
Thud!
Thud!
Bam.
“Book of Death.”
Puhwaah!
Slash!
Having managed to separate the opponent from the battlefield to some extent, it was now my turn to act.
“Extraction. Materialization.”
The symbol and treasure of the Celestial Palace that I had used in my battle against Jackson.
“Ring of Projection.”
Whoosh.
Slash—
Crackle!
Glowing wedge symbols were engraved on the heads of the Great Octopus and my wrist.
With this, there was no way I could leave this place until the duel was settled.
Kuooh!
The Great Octopus swung several of its tentacles in rage, but I arranged the undead in wide formations, using them as stepping stones to easily avoid its attacks.
Whizz!
Thud!
Thud!
The tentacles struck the innocent surface of the water, and the Octopus became angrier, continuously attacking.
So far, things were going smoothly, but the real challenge was what came next.
‘There’s really no good way to catch it.’
Despite its appearance, the opponent was an A4 rank large boss monster. It was definitely not an easy foe.
On the other hand, my current means were extremely limited.
‘Of course, I have undead that are skilled in underwater combat…’
However, with my current level, honestly, summoning them was quite a daunting task. Even with a legendary sword, I couldn’t use it, which was truly a lamentable situation.
Swish!
Thud!
As I continued to dodge attacks while pondering deeply, I eventually had no choice but to open the Book of Death again and began chanting spells.
Whoosh.
“Extraction.”
The page was the fifteenth.
What lay within was an ancient artifact engraved with a spell to summon and control water spirits.
“Materialization.”
Whoosh.
Drip.
One drop of water began to drip down from the blue spirit stone.
Drop by drop, the water increased explosively, and eventually, what began to gush forth took the form of a beautiful woman.
Watching this unfold, I softly called out the name of the summoned spirit.
“Selenia.”
– …….
The summoned Selenia tilted her head while looking at me, then clapped her hands and cheerfully murmured in a bright voice.
– Has that disastrous apostle finally died and a new master taken their place? Who are you?
“Sorry about that. I’m still alive and kicking with both eyes wide open.”
– Well, I knew that at first glance.
Selenia spun around me, inspecting my body with curiosity.
– This is… quite the situation, huh?
This was the crux of the matter. I lifted the artifact and pointed at the Great Octopus ahead.
“I hope you can take care of that one.”
– Heh. So you’ve gotten so weak that you can’t even deal with that little creature? Is that tyrant in charge again?
Selenia flashed a momentarily significant smile. Then, slyly grinning, she offered her agreement.
– Alright. I’ll help you.
“…Really?”
Honestly, I was taken aback. I hadn’t expected such a quick consent. To that, Selenia lifted the surrounding water into the air and spoke to me.
– Perhaps it’s because I’ve weakened, but the unpleasant energy has lessened. It feels good to be out after a long time.
And surely enough, as if this was the main point, she continued right away.
– But, of course, there will be a price to pay. Although I’ve been forced to ignore it all the time, that’s the principle of the matter.
It seemed this ancient artifact indeed had restrictions where the user had to pay a price to the counterpart depending on their ability.
I reluctantly nodded and said,
“If you think of cheating me, I’ll just knock you out.”
– Is that really what you want to say?
Selenia expressed disbelief, and just then, the Great Octopus’ tentacle charged toward us.
Whoosh!
Splat!
However, for some reason, they stopped just short of reaching Selenia and halted in front of her. Pure refined magic was binding the opponent.
Seeing that, Selenia chuckled softly and raised her hand towards the Great Octopus.
“It seems I need to teach you at least some manners.”
What the Octopus could see next was countless spears of water filling the air.