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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 14
I pushed aside all my emotions, from resentment to curiosity.
The self-proclaimed Regressors were all former Rankers.
There was nothing I could do by meeting them now.
In my current weakened state, I needed to make rational decisions.
I moved to the outskirts of the ridge and lay down on the ground, using it as cover.
I planned to slip away amidst the chaos once the battle started.
The Iron Blood Legion Hunters came up the path on the right diagonal.
"It's a flood! Estimated at over 10,000!"
"Prepare for battle!"
"Request reinforcements from the Holy Church! All the mobs here are Ghost-type. Our synergy with them is terrible."
I tried to use the skill I had just acquired to assess the situation.
"Constellation."
【"If you're thinking of joining the fight, you'll have to step over me. I'm against this."】
【Your Constellation 'Sunny' lies down on the floor.】
I let out a bitter laugh.
"I know my own limits. I just want to check the situation. Does Dullahan's Gaze consume a lot of mana?"
【"That skill isn't combat-oriented, so I can support it 100%. Enjoy the show."】
"Thank you."
I used 'Dullahan's Gaze.'
A fireball the size of a fist appeared without consuming any of my mana.
Whoosh!
A vertically slit eyeball was embedded in the center of the fireball.
Considering the possibility of being mistaken for a ghost and attacked, I hid the Dullahan's Gaze atop a dense tree and looked down at the battlefield.
The ghost knights on skeletal warhorses and the Hunters of the Iron Blood Legion were engaged in fierce combat.
The Iron Blood Legion actively utilized magic engineering and had many Gunners among their ranks.
The combat gear they wore was also cyberpunk-style, unlike that of ordinary Hunters.
Coilgun bullets and hyper-vibration knives shredded the ghosts, their ceramic armor glowing with the power of contained plasma energy.
Flash!
It was the overwhelming firepower I remembered.
However, despite blasting away dozens of ghosts with each strike, the tide of the battle was gradually turning against them.
"They're not dying!"
"Hold on! Just hold on until the guys from the Magic Tower arrive!"
"These bastards, physical attacks don't work!"
This was why Hunters hated Ghost-types.
It was also the reason why 'The Ghost Princess's Castle,' despite having an average monster rank of C, was classified as a Rank 2 Gate.
The standard-bearer holding the Iron Blood Legion's flag grimaced.
At that moment, a man standing among the large Hunters at the rear stepped forward.
I recognized him instantly.
"Lee Eunwoo?"
For a moment, my concentration wavered, and the 'Dullahan's Gaze' almost went out.
【"You know him, don't you?"】
"Yes. I taught him too..."
【"The swordsman stabbed you in the heart, and this guy shot you in the head."】
"...That's also true."
Lee Eunwoo, ranked 7th in Korea, also known as 'Mr. Pistol'.
A Gunner with a halo of a black diamond and a blue diamond half-overlapping.
A man with a cold impression, sharp jawline, and longish dark brown hair.
An Awakened who embodied both intellect with his black suit and thick-rimmed glasses, and decadence with his red and blue aquamarine earrings.
He was not only an exceptional Hunter but also the rising star who had led the Iron Blood Legion to become one of Korea's top 5 guilds.
"Focus fire in 12 seconds for 4 seconds. Then, we'll fall back 80 meters."
After giving instructions through his earpiece, he drew a pistol from his waist and aimed it forward.
Ching!
With a clear metallic sound, the sleek illusion of a mechanical giant appeared behind him.
Green lights flickered stylishly between the glossy black armor plates.
Lee Eunwoo pulled the trigger of his pistol and chanted an incantation.
【"O’ God of Machines!"】
Bang!
With a single gunshot, the machine that had appeared behind him began firing.
Ziiiiing!
A green laser beam knocked a ghost knight off its horse.
Whoosh!
A sleek rocket tore a Phantom to shreds.
Flash!
A railgun bullet shattered a Dullahan.
Even the God of Machines was a god.
The ghosts hit by Lee Eunwoo's skill, imbued with divinity, couldn't revive.
The charge of the ghost knights was momentarily halted.
"Now's our chance!"
"Fall back!"
The Iron Blood Legion Hunters quickly retreated.
Lee Eunwoo also breathed a sigh of relief and withdrew with his subordinates.
But I felt an ominous premonition, one that had always been accurate.
Poooooo!
The charge horn blared a second time.
A ghost knight with a Banshee adjutant stretched out its hand.
An Aitel notification popped up, indicating the arrival of a high-ranking opponent.
【Warning! Warning! Warning!】
【Champion of the Ghost Princess (B)】
The fog that had enveloped the castle began to creep towards the city.
"Kyahahahahahaha!"
"Kekekeke!"
Banshees, Wraiths, Ghosts, and Phantoms swarmed within.
While the Ghost Knights and Dullahans had some semblance of physical form, these did not.
They were literally the worst possible matchup for the Iron Blood Legion.
Bang!
A Hunter from the Iron Blood Legion turned around with an expression of disbelief.
"Y-You—!"
His partner Hunter was grinning wickedly, about to pull the trigger of their coilgun at his back.
The partner Hunter's eyes glowed with a sinister green light.
【Status Effect: Possession】
Similar scenes unfolded across the battlefield.
"Protect the Guild Master!"
"Hey! Snap out of it!"
"Get the healing potion, no! Holy water!"
"Bring out the Mental Barrier flag!"
The Iron Blood Legion Hunters were flustered, wary of each other.
The possessed Hunters were stabbing their comrades in the side with hyper-vibration knives or putting gun barrels in their own mouths and pulling the trigger.
I used Dullahan's Gaze to look towards the forest.
The ghost knights, having regrouped, were preparing to charge once more.
At their forefront was the Champion of the Ghost Princess.
It had a white handkerchief tied around one wrist, and in that hand, he held a longsword.
The longsword looked sharp enough to cleave through the Iron Blood Legion Hunters' heavy armor in a single strike.
Saaaaa.
The moment the white handkerchief on its wrist glowed, its longsword flickered in and out of sight.
I used 'Appraisal' once more.
【Champion's Sword (Rare)】
【Ghost Princess's Handkerchief (Heroic). A handkerchief bestowed upon her Champion by the Ghost Princess. It possesses the power of concealment, making what should be seen unseen.】
The sword was 'Rare,' but the handkerchief was a 'Heroic' grade item.
I imagined that guy and the ghost knights breaking through the Iron Blood Legion Hunters and pouring into the city.
Countless spirits would possess the Non-Awakened and drain their life force.
Eunwoo wasn't the type to abandon his subordinates and the citizens, so he would die alongside them.
When he pointed his gun at me, I felt my blood boil.
But I didn't want to see him and those Hunters die.
I had seen the news.
Since my death, the Rankers had all holed up in their guild buildings.
But Eunwoo, at least, had responded to the crisis alert and rushed here on time.
He was doing exactly as I had taught him.
My disciple was acting according to my teachings, and I couldn't just stand by and do nothing.
If I could take down the Champion, it would be a great help.
With that, he could turn the tide of the battle.
And if the disciple who even killed me once couldn't do that, then he's a disgrace and I don't care if he lives or dies.
I quietly got to my feet.
My mana had recovered slightly.
It wasn't enough for Law of Light, but with my Constellation's support, I could probably use four or five skills.
"Constellation."
My Constellation replied in a pleading tone.
【"Do you really have to do this in your condition?"】
"I want that handkerchief. With that, I might be able to conceal my halo even while using mana, right?"
【"I'll give you a thousand of those handkerchiefs later. Please, let's just go back now."】
"I beg you."
I pleaded back.
【"..."】
And my Constellation was always weak to my pleas and the challenges that followed.
In fact, it seemed like she wanted to see it.
* * *
Lee Eunwoo, in the midst of the battle, felt the ground rumble beneath his feet.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The stones on the ground shook and bounced.
'They're coming.'
He couldn't see the ghost knights due to the thick fog, but the thunderous sound of hooves was clear.
"Teams 1, 3, and 5! Continuous fire at the front! Pour it on!"
With his sharp mind, he came to a single conclusion.
'This is our chance.'
The rumbling ground meant the ghost knights had materialized, and if they had materialized, bullets would work.
The Hunters of the Iron Blood Legion could easily wipe out mere C-Rank monsters.
But the situation wasn't favorable.
"It's impossible!"
"Too many of our teammates are possessed!"
Half of their formation had collapsed due to the evil spirits led by the Banshees.
Lee Eunwoo acknowledged that the enemy commander, the Champion of the Ghost Princess, had used its head quite well.
'We shouldn't have come here alone from the start.'
Normally, the 'Magic Tower' or the 'Holy Church' would have sent Hunters capable of area-wide blessings or anti-ghost enchantments.
If they had coordinated with those Hunters beforehand, they could have not only defended but also pushed through this Gate entirely.
However, after Hong Baekya's death, all the Rankers in the country were on high alert, refusing to step outside their guild buildings.
Even the production guilds that manufactured consumable artifacts had all closed down temporarily.
Lee Eunwoo suddenly thought of the saying— "What goes around comes around."
'I told him we needed to keep him alive at least until we reached the 90th floor...'
Regretting not having dissuaded him more strongly was pointless now.
Lee Eunwoo turned to his second-in-command and asked—
"When is the Holy Church arriving?"
She replied in a near-scream.
"3 minutes and 25 seconds!"
After a brief moment of thought, he gave the order.
"Fall back once more."
"What? There's nowhere left to retreat!"
"I'll hold them off. It's the most efficient way."
Click.
He transformed his pistol into a service rifle using his signature weapon's 'Shape Transformation' ability.
"Thanks to my title, I can deal damage to spirits. We don't all have to die here."
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The sound of the skeletal warhorses' hooves drew closer.
The Iron Blood Legion Hunters panicked.
"Fall back!"
"No! The city hall is right behind us!"
"If we're breached, it's all over!"
At the forefront of the ghost knights, the Champion, wielding a longsword that flickered in and out of sight, exuded a chilling aura.
"Guild Master!"
Lee Eunwoo ignored his second-in-command's scream and charged forward.
Whoosh!
At that moment, a 'Flame Arrow' shot out from the side.
'Huh?'
The arrow flew past him, heading straight for the 'Champion of the Ghost Princess.'
Its trajectory aimed precisely at its eye.
Thwack!
However, the Champion of the Ghost Princess raised its left hand and caught the arrow in mid-air.
The Flame Arrow fluttered like a fish inside its left gauntlet.
["Pathetic...!"]
The moment the Champion clenched its hand, trying to crush the Flame Arrow—
Boom!
With a fierce explosion, the Champion's entire hand was blown off.
'A Hunter?'
A Hunter appeared where the Flame Arrow had been.
He emerged from the exploding gauntlet, landing lightly on the head of a skeletal warhorse.
His movements were fluid as he pressed down on the Champion's right shoulder with his left hand, preventing the Champion from swinging its sword.
Because of the thick fog, he couldn't clearly see the Hunter's halo, but it was red and disc-shaped.
The high bridge of his nose, glimpsed in profile, seemed strangely familiar.
'No way...'
Lee Eunwoo, seeing the technique and the halo, thought of his deceased mentor and comrade.
Crack!
The unidentified Hunter thrust his hand into the Champion's gauntlet, ripping through the center of its armored torso.
He must have detonated flames directly at the spirit core inside the armor, as flames momentarily erupted from the gaps in the Champion's armor.
Whoosh!
"Kaaaaagh!"
The Champion of the Ghost Princess stiffened.
The unidentified Hunter tackled the Champion, dragging him down from the horse.
The ghost knights, unable to overcome their momentum, trampled over their fallen commander.
Crunch!
The Champion of the Ghost Princess was crushed beneath the hooves of its subordinates.
The unidentified Hunter tried to roll away with a breakfall, but he was kicked by a hoof and collapsed, getting trampled along with the Champion.
"Ah."
Lee Eunwoo gritted his teeth out of sorrow.
Whoever he was, if he used flames, he must have been a physically weak mage or esper-type.
There was no way he could survive being trampled by that many warhorses.
Just as he was offering a silent prayer for the promising young Hunter who might have become a Ranker—
Boom!
Another explosion erupted.
It was much more intense than the first one.
Ghost knights were sent flying into the air, horses and all.
The charge, which had momentarily faltered due to the commander's fall, was now half-halted.
"!"
Lee Eunwoo realized that the tide of the battle had turned.
"Now's our chance! Fire!"
The Iron Blood Legion Hunters, having barely regained their formation, aimed their guns at the materialized ghost knights.
They were exceptional Gunners, capable of piercing through dozens of C-rank monsters at once.
"Keeeeeek!"
The ghost knights desperately tried to become intangible, but...
Bang! Tat-tat-tat! Ratatatatat!
The coilgun bullets were faster than they thought.
Hundreds of ghost knights were torn to shreds in a single volley.
"Nice!"
"Maintain formation and retreat!"
"Someone get the Guild Master!"
"Don't ever do that again!"
Lee Eunwoo, being dragged away by his furious second-in-command, looked back at the spot where the unidentified Hunter had crouched.
Just one Hunter.
A single addition to the fight.
Yet, it was enough to turn the tide of the battle in an instant.
That move reminded him of the hero they had killed not long ago.
'He can't be... alive, can he?'
At that moment, Lee Eunwoo saw it.
Among the corpses of the ghost knights—
The unidentified Hunter was untying the Ghost Princess's Handkerchief from the Champion's wrist.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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