Chapter 90 - Chapter 90 (1/2)
"Come out and play."
Everything began with those words.
Whoooosh-!!
A ripple incomparably greater than that of the magic energy wave from the High Orc Shaman spread out everywhere. That wasn't the only change to take place, however.
Along with him unshackling his magic power, the shadow beneath Jin-Woo's feet spread out, too. And it covered the entirety of the chamber's surface at a frightening pace, as if someone had poured a bucket of pitch-black ink onto the floor.
"Heok?!"
"W-what's this??"
The Hunters of Sohn Ki-Hoon's raid team saw the 'shadow' spread beneath their feet and freaked out. How should they even go about describing this situation? Even the most experienced, grizzled Hunters among the group hadn't heard of anything like this, never mind seeing one.
Tremble...
An unknown fear crept up over them.
Sohn Ki-Hoon, lying on the ground, powerlessly began trembling violently while staring up at Jin-Woo.
'What.... Just what are you planning to do?'
As if to answer his silent question – when the spreading shadow completely covered the floor of the boss room....
Shururuk...
The surface of the shadow wavered, and soldiers wearing jet-black armour rose up one by one.
[You have activated 'Skill: Sovereign's Territory'.]
[All Stats of the Shadow Soldiers fighting over the Summoner's shadow will rise up by 50%.]
A thin smile spread on Jin-Woo's lips.
'Good.'
This was the new Class-specific Skill he learnt when he broke past level 70 back in the Demon's Castle.
He sensed the fighting spirit of his enhanced soldiers soaring higher. Quite obviously, a satisfied grin formed on his face. 50 summoned Shadow Soldiers stood around Jin-Woo in a circle as if to protect him.
"Ku-kururuk??"
"Kuruk!!"
The High Orc Warriors, famed for their bravery, began retreating one step at a time after getting their wits scared off by the dangerous pressure emitted by Jin-Woo and his soldiers.
"O-Orcs are retreating?!"
"Just what is the meaning of this...."
Even though they were trembling like a leaf from this unbelievable situation, the Hunters also began clutching onto a slender thread of renewed hope now.
"D-did you feel that?"
"Yeah."
"Can... can that even make any sense?"
The mage-type Hunters were sensitive towards the magic energy, to begin with. And they couldn't control their furiously quickening heartbeat no matter what. Because, an insane amount of magic energy was gushing out from the man who subbed in for their luggage carrier. Someone whom they thought of as a simple rank E, no less.
'No, hang on. Is this even magic energy?'
'To think, this magical energy is even more ominous than what the High Orc Shaman is emitting...!!'
The sheer pressure from the magic energy thickly filling up the boss room made it difficult to even breathe properly. The fact that this incredible power didn't belong to an enemy relieved them to no end.
On the other hand, indescribably heavy and taut tension was flowing among the ranks of High Orcs.
With the appearance of the Shadow Soldiers, the difference of 1 to 150 suddenly got reduced to 50 to 150.
More importantly, though, those 50 were no ordinary 50 at all. No, that was the power that already transcended common sense, the one that couldn't be quantified with mere numbers!
As if to prove that reality, Jin-Woo was the very first one to dash forward.
The Shaman hurriedly shouted out, then.
"What are you doing!! Kill that human right now!!"
With their backs pushed forward by the voice carrying a thick amount of the Shaman's magical energy, the High Orc warriors all roared out and raised their weapons.
"Kuwaaaaarrr!!"
Step, step, step – slice!!
The skill, 'Sovereign's Territory' was designed solely for his Shadow Soldiers. However, even without a Status boosting buff, Jin-Woo's displayed strength was already out of this world.
"Kuwaaahk!!"
"Kuaahh, kuaaah!!"
High Orcs screamed out. Limbs, bits of body parts sliced off by Jin-Woo's two daggers, and the ensuing trails of blood scattered in all directions. He was so fast that even the elite Hunters could only catch the glimpses of his afterimage.
"That...."
"Right. That's like seeing our Vice Chairman."
Cha Hae-In's nickname was the 'Dancer'.
Normally, she remained a calm, composed figure, but when she jumped into a battle, she swiftly cut down monsters as if she was performing a fast-tempo dance routine. Hence, that nickname was given to her.
The woman in question forbade the use of that nickname because of how embarrassing it sounded, so it wasn't widely known, but some people still resorted to calling her that every now and then.
And now, their supposed porter was displaying a movement that equalled Cha Hae-In – no, even exceeding her speed.
If Cha Hae-In danced, then Mister Porter was a typhoon. He had become the centre of the storm to obliterate the surrounding monsters.
Kuoooaaahhh!!
The Shadow Soldiers didn't lose out, either; the former leader of the Ice Bears, Tank, took a step forward and that signalled the attack of the Shadow Soldiers.
Iron took to the front. Just as he had done previously, Iron yelled out at the top of his lungs before he could enter the fray properly.
Wuooaaaahhhh!!!
[Iron has used 'Skill: Shout of Provocation'.]
[The targets' resistance is too high and the intended effect didn't activate.]
When his skill failed to work, Iron got angry and began roaring out like a beast. And then, he began destroying the hapless High Orcs with his massive hammer.
Swooosh-!!
Kwajeeck!!
Crack!!
"Kuhhhaarck!!"
"Kiiehck!"
He was so destructive that one even felt a smidgeon of pity for the High Orcs.
On the other hand, Igrit was elegantly and efficiently cutting down the necks of his enemies in complete contrast to Iron's brutality. High Orcs running into Igrit didn't even have a chance to scream before their breaths were cut short.
Slice!
When Igrit's sword drew an arc in the air, another High Orc lost its head.
Regular Shadow Soldiers found it hard to fight against individual High Orcs, but they possessed stamina that didn't know the meaning of fatigue, and the capability to regenerate almost endlessly.
And by buying time in this fashion, the sea of fire shooting out from the Magic Soldiers would rain down on top of the enemies with no exceptions.
Kaaabbboooom!!
Rumble-!!
The number of High Orcs decreased substantially in no time at all. The Shaman's swine-like cheek meat quivered in rage.
'How an insolent human being dares to...!'
The boss's glare was now firmly fixed on Jin-Woo. The boss quickly decided to kill that human first.
The black-armoured soldiers were summons called forth by that human! If that human died, then these soldiers would disappear, too.
In order to kill Jin-Woo, the Shaman began chanting a spell.
"..."
The lips of the Shaman quickly moved up and down.
The song of slowness, the song of blindness, the song of crippling fever, the song of intolerable pain, and the song of demonic slumber; five different types of hexes were completed in an instant and flew towards their intended victim.
"It's done!"
The corners of the Shaman's lips arched up.
The moment all those hexes were completed, Jin-Woo also sensed the unnatural movement of magic energy.
'….Magic, is it?'
Jin-Woo's eyes met those of the Shaman's.
The Orc Shaman smirked derisively.