Chapter 44: Frost Anvil (2) (1/2)
Terms used in this chapter:
Silpi (실피) – Literally means ‘loss of blood,’ but ‘Blood loss’ sounds better. It is a Korean gaming term which meant that the player/character’s HP is seriously low. Games that use HP bars for their characters, e.g. Pokémon, have HP bars that turn red in color when the HP is low. And HP is tied to the character’s life, so ‘red + life = blood.’
Baby Shark – a Korean children’s song about a family of sharks, that went viral worldwide. Its lyrics usually have ‘doo doo doo doo doo’ in the end.
“The flock is endless!”
“Master Farragut!”
“Ahh! Save me!”
The screams of the combatants were heard throughout the cold and harsh winds of Frost Anvil.
Demonic human Farragut glared straight ahead as he roughly breathed.
There was a red glare in his eyes as he had already activated his demonization, and Farragut saw the monsters hidden among the rushing snowstorm.
‘Too many.’
There were hundreds to perhaps, even thousands or more monsters.
There were also various types. The monsters weren’t just divided into several species. Among them was a type of monster that even Farragut had never seen before.
“Master Farragut!”
He heard a scream again that came from his back and not in the front.
It was because the flying monsters known as Winter Harpies, stormed through the back of Farragut’s battle formation.
“Lowly monsters!”
Farragut yelled in anger and struck his right fist. A terrifying shock wave then rose and spread out, hitting the Winter Harpies.
The strength of his attack’s power made the blizzard and gale covering the whole area disappear for a moment.
Bang!
The Winter Harpies hit by the shockwaves became a handful of blood that scattered in the area, and some of the survivors ran away in horror.
But it was only for a short time.
Soon, the blizzard struck again, and monsters came flocking too.
“Damn it!”
It wasn’t like this from the beginning.
At best, it started with a few Snow Goblins appearing, so it wasn’t strange.
Frost Anvil was a snowfield area, and Snow Goblins lived in snowfields.
But as time went by, things got weird.
The number of Snow Goblins kept increasing as if they were moving in groups, and later, Winter Bears who were the Snow Goblins’ predators, also appeared.
Several hours have passed since then.
“Master Farragut! I can’t hold on any longer!”
The combatant’s heartbreaking scream proved to be true.
However, it wasn’t possible for them to leave this place.
‘We can’t get away!’
The monsters were too many.
There was no way for them to escape because the monsters endlessly came like turbulent sea waves.
“Master Farragut! Master Vilkay!”
Farragut turned his gaze as he smashed the head of a Winter Bear that came right behind his back.
He could see Vilkay in the distance surrounded by countless monsters, as she rose to the sky by spreading her wings. Her eyes glowed red and released a terrifying magic power.
Booom!
An intense red wave swept around Vilkay and the surrounding area. It instantly created a huge vacant lot that was 20 meters in diameter, with its inside filled with the blood of monsters.
“Gaak-!”
However, Vilkay did not come out unharmed.
After using too much mana in succession, she collapsed on the floor and vomited dark red blood.
“Vilkay!”
Farragut roughly kicked on the ground.
The monsters attacked Vilkay again as if their sense of fear was paralyzed.
“Farra…gut…”
The horns protruding through Vilkay’s red hair gradually became smaller.
Her demonization was released because of excessive use.
“Ubatants desperately fighting in front of the Great Gate. They had brought close to a hundred people, but only thirty people were left.
“We can’t run out there.”
The monsters endlessly came in droves.
If the number of monsters exceeded one’s imagination, even Farragut would get swept away by the monster waves and be killed.
Farragut knew of that fact too, so he said with a heavy breath.
“Let’s go inside.”
Inside the Great Gate.
Go inside, seal the doors and unseal Sisioth.
“The door?”
Vilkay asked in confusion.
The Great Gate was tightly sealed.
Count Hræsvelgr had newly installed a huge seal to prevent thieves from entering Frost Anvil.
“I will open it. If I use all my remaining power, it would be possible to break the seal and open the door.”
Go inside, close the doors, and unseal Sisioth.
Let Sisioth deal with the monsters while they rest inside to restore their strength.
Removing the seal would make it conspicuous from afar so Cordelia might feel that something is strange and not approach this place out of concern, but now wasn’t the time for them to think about that.
“After we’ve recovered, we just need to seal Sisioth again. Even Sisioth would be exhausted from dealing with all those monsters.”
“Okay, I agree to that.”
Vilkay nodded. Farragut took a deep breath and gathered all his remaining mana into one place, and he strongly kicked the ground again.
“I’ll open the doors! Evacuate inside!”
As he shouted loudly, he threw up Vilkay into the air towards the combatants.
As soon as the combatants scurried and caught Vilkay, he pulled his fist and focused all his strength on one point.
It was not a technique or skill, but just the manifestation of pure power.
The moment he punched the doors, a red flash of light struck the Great Gate. The entire Great Gate, which stood at 20 meters high, shook greatly. Count Hræsvelgr’s golden magic seal that was spread out on front of the Great Gate was shattered all at once.
“Uoooohhh!”
Farragut didn’t stop. The Great Gate was slightly opened from the shock, so he inserted his hands on the gap and opened the doors with all his might.
“Uuoooooh!!!”
The Great Gate boasted an enormous weight as much as its size.
Despite all his efforts, the gap he created was only enough to fit a couple of people.
“Hurry up!”
Farragut was the first to enter as he shouted, and the combatants followed behind Farragut, rushing inside the doors.
“Master Farragut!”
“We too!”
“Ahhhhh!”
The combatants, who stood at the very back of the formation and stopped the monsters, all cried out to Farragut, but he ignored them.
About ten combatants were dying in the struggle while Farragut closed the Great Gate with all his might.
Boom!
With a dull sound, the doors were closed together. At the same time, Vilkay finished the ritual to release Sisioth’s seal.
“Haaa….haaa…”
Farragut roughly breathed as he broke into a cold sweat. Beyond the doors, he could feel the powerful magic of Sisioth that had been unsealed.
“Farra…gut…”
Vilkay was covered in sweat as she called Farragut.
There was a mixture of terror and fear in both their eyes, and a sense of relief that they lived at the same time.
Farragut spoke.
“Let’s go inside.”
“Inside?”