Chapter 9 Part2 (2/2)

[I-If the facility is going to crumble and everyone's going to die, then... I'll fight with you. d.a.m.n it, I can't go to h.e.l.l without achieving anything.]

[It's the same for me too. In the end, I may have been too depressed that we hadn't been able to prevent the curse. If you're a knight of the Empire, you have to be able to fight your enemy without fear...!]

”...Talk is cheap. Prove it to me with your actions starting now.”

Lee s.h.i.+n Woo thought it was time to reproach them more... and as soon as he replied frigidly, the skeletons actually seemed to show some pride, and walked ahead of him with heavy footsteps.

He thought when he saw them. 'Hoo, it may be because skeletons don't have brains, but I'm telling you, it's really easy to trick them!'

”We have to check the remaining hidden facilities first and then act. Before that... Do you each remember your names?”

[That's... I don't remember anything about myself...]

”Alright then, from this side in order, you're Paul, Paul 2, Paul 3...”

Lee s.h.i.+n Woo treated the skeletons that he had left behind to fight the King Slime as already dead, so he forcibly took their names and pa.s.sed them on!

It was an extremely wicked and careless naming ceremony, but the Pauls didn't realize it, and were touched as they thought that he 'accepted them as comrades'. They accepted Lee s.h.i.+n Woo as their temporary leader, so he didn't really need to make up an alias!

'If I came out strong from the start, I could've finished it without lying unnecessarily.'

Lee s.h.i.+n Woo learned a new way to conduct himself based on the situation. If he used the difference of strength between him and his target, and said something suitable, they wouldn't probe him, and at the same time, he could set up their relations.h.i.+p such that he was superior!

'...Though even I think it's really not something a hero should do.'

Around the time that Lee s.h.i.+n Woo pondered whether he was going in the right direction or not, he finally arrived at the last area. There were seven Poison Skeletons within, and they also obediently joined up with him. With this, he had gathered 12 level 3 Skeletons, excluding himself.

”I've collected all of the materials. Now let's go and take care of the monster!”

[Let's go!]

As they had increased in numbers, it seemed the skeletons inevitably swelled with confidence. Even though they had regained their reason, they were still fundamentally idiots.

'Anyway...'

While Lee s.h.i.+n Woo was encouraging the skeletons and advancing forward, he caught a glimpse of the end of the dungeon. The final secret facility, as well as the adjoining pa.s.sageway; on the side of the wall, there was a trace that it'd been completely torn out. It looked like that was the boss room... it was obvious, but he didn't feel anything in there.

'What happens in this case? Does it recognize killing the King Slime as killing the boss...?'

He had undergone various strange experiences in this dungeon, which was truly odd. The experience he acquired here should be helpful later. He ran while thinking such miscellaneous thoughts, and in no time reached the area where he had first encountered the King Slime.

[You have found the target of your revenge. When you fight it, all abilities increase by 45%. Flames of Revenge receive an additional bonus of 45%. It is your opponent's last chance, as well as yours.]

[Kureureureuaaaaaaaaaaaaah!]

The King Slime, which had discovered Lee s.h.i.+n Woo, howled forcefully. It didn't have any traces of the Flames of Revenge on its body anymore. He had felt the connection of mana terminate in the middle and had roughly a.s.sumed as much.

”You weren't able to shake it off at the right time, so your body has gotten a lot smaller, huh?”

[Kuaaaaaah!]

It acted as though it could understand what Lee s.h.i.+n Woo was saying and the King Slime's temper flared, though its body had considerably lessened compared to when he had first saw it. It was to the point that he would believe it if someone said it was a slightly big Great Slime.

However, the smaller it got, the more its strength was concentrated in its body; its strength alone wouldn't lose out to the Acid Ghoul's.

[Kuaaaaaaaah...!]

[I-I can't believe it.]

[My bones...]

Whereas the 12 Pauls murmured to themselves when they saw the four big and small bones scattered around the battlefield. Of course, the owner of those bones were all dead... No, actually, they were the skeletons of the original Pauls 1 through 4.

They had fought so desperately, so there was no way they'd come out alive from fighting the King Slime.

”Those guys chose to sacrifice themselves in order to keep the results of our tests safe, as well as hide us from the enemy, which allowed me to rescue you guys.”

Lee s.h.i.+n Woo chattered away so calmly about them, even though they had died so unfairly; if the original Pauls, who had become bones, had heard him, they would've returned as evil spirits to haunt him. It would be really fun if they came back as evil spirits.

”You're not going to let their sacrifice go to waste, are you? For the Empire, and for yourselves... We're stepping over their corpses!”

[Ouooooooooh!]

[I'll survive no matter what! Even though I'm a skeleton, there's hope if I survive!]

[I'll crush that mushy monster!]

The effect was amazing! The morale of the 12 Pauls soared and they each raised their weapons, and charged at the King Slime! The King Slime seemed to find it laughable and spewed its Acid Poison, though because they were Poison Skeletons, they weren't harmed very much.

”Think back to when you were warriors! Dying to a mere slime like that is disgraceful!”

Lee s.h.i.+n Woo encouraged the skeletons and comfortably took a pose from the rear. The flames would just cause it to self-destruct, so for now, he planned to fire his Grenade (Catapult + Self-Destruct) to weaken the slime.

”Then... fire!”

[Gguaaaaaaang!]

The resulting explosion from the index finger shot inflicted tremendous damage to the King Slime, causing it to rampage about; unfortunately, the 12 Poison Skeletons fought desperately without reservation, so Lee s.h.i.+n Woo couldn't attack without them making way.

As it had done before, the Great Slime bounced its body, but even if it tried to crush the skeletons, there were heaps of earth everywhere and its huge body didn't allow it to move very easily!

”Hmph, it's all going according to plan...!”

Lee s.h.i.+n Woo confirmed that the situation was going his way, going exactly as planned, though he hadn't actually set up any such plan; he regenerated his index finger and prepared his second Catapult. There weren't any skeletons that had died yet.

'I hope you guys last until the King Slime dies.'

Lee s.h.i.+n Woo stood behind his humans s.h.i.+elds... no, his skeleton s.h.i.+elds and leisurely fired his Fire Bullet while grinning. That's how he raised the curtains to an extremely one-sided and cowardly battle.

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